Name: Mixed Salad
Ingredients: 2 good-sized cucumbers; equal parts of tomatoes; equal parts of celery; mayonnaise dressing; a few nut meats

Why it works: Cucumber and tomato are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 4% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 2,405 recipes. Both carry 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine, which smells earthy, pea. The science ↓

Mixed Salad

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare the cucumbers

Cut cucumbers in half lengthwise.
Scoop out the flesh.

Assemble and serve

Mix the flesh with equal parts of diced tomatoes and celery.
Fill the cucumber shells with the mixture.
Top with mayonnaise dressing and scatter nut meats on top.

Recipe from a historical cookbook (Internet Archive).

Transcribed from a scanned cookbook and modernised for today's kitchens. Where the book gave no heat or time, or said "a moderate oven", the temperatures and times here may be modern equivalents rather than the book's own figures.

Explore the science

The flavor team

The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much their aromas overlap, and how often cooks already put them together.

Cucumber + tomatotop 4% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together2,405 recipes

Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
Tomato + celerytop 4% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together3,377 recipes

Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).
Cucumber + celerytop 8% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together1,745 recipes

Shared aroma: linalool (floral, citrus).
Tomato + meattop 17% of all pairs

Smell alikelow

Cooked together1,438 recipes

Shared aroma: 1-octen-3-one (mushroom, metallic).
Celery + meattop 18% of all pairs

Smell alikelow

Cooked together1,880 recipes

Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

Cucumbers: Hollowed shells hold the filling, giving the salad its serving vessel and crisp, cool base.
Tomatoes: Add juiciness and a mild acidity that brightens the filling.
Celery: Adds crisp texture that contrasts with the soft cucumber flesh and tomatoes.
Mayonnaise dressing: Adds fat and creaminess, binding the vegetables and carrying flavour.