Name: Lettuce Plain
Ingredients: 1 head of lettuce; 2 hard-boiled eggs; ¼ cup vinegar; 2 teaspoons sugar

Why it works: Lettuce and vinegar are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 14% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 2,370 recipes. Both carry isobutyraldehyde, which smells malty, green. The science ↓

Lettuce Plain

Ingredients

1 head of lettuce
2 hard-boiled eggs
¼ cup vinegar
2 teaspoons sugar

Directions

Prepare

Separate the leaves of the lettuce and wash each leaf thoroughly to remove any insects.
Arrange the washed leaves neatly on a flat dish.

Assemble and dress

Slice the hard-boiled eggs and place them on top of the lettuce.
Drizzle with vinegar and sprinkle with sugar to taste.

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.

Lettuce + vinegartop 14% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together2,370 recipes

Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
Vinegar + sugartop 15% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together20,806 recipes

Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).
Egg + sugartop 21% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together122,807 recipes

Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
Lettuce + sugartop 29% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together1,486 recipes

Shared aroma: 1-penten-3-one (fish, pungent).
Lettuce + eggtop 30% of all pairs

Smell alikelow

Cooked together3,301 recipes

Shared aroma: nonanal (fat, citrus).

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

What each ingredient does

Lettuce: Forms the crisp, leafy base that holds the eggs and dressing.
Hard-boiled eggs: Add richness and substance, with firm whites and creamy yolks.
Vinegar: Adds acidity that brightens the flavour of the salad.
Sugar: Balances the sharpness of the vinegar with a touch of sweetness.