Why it works: Olive and lemon are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 7% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 11,922 recipes. Both carry 3-hexenal, which smells apple, fruity. The science ↓
French Dressing
Ingredients
Directions
Make the dressing
In a small bowl, combine salt and paprika.
Slowly add olive oil while stirring constantly.
Add lemon juice drop by drop, continuing to beat until fully incorporated.
Chill and serve
Chill the dressing.
Just before serving, beat the dressing again thoroughly.
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.
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Olive + lemontop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together11,922 recipes
Shared aroma: 3-hexenal (apple, fruity).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Olive oil
- Forms the fat base of the dressing and gives it body and a smooth mouthfeel.
- Lemon juice
- Adds acidity and brightness that balances the richness of the oil.
The step that matters
Adding lemon juice drop by drop while beating. Oil and acid do not mix naturally. Adding the juice slowly while beating breaks it into tiny droplets dispersed through the oil, which keeps the dressing emulsified instead of separating.
“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.
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