Cucumber Salad

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.

1. Mustard + celerytop 2% of all pairs
   Smell alikemoderate
   Cooked together4,169 recipes

   Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).

2. Cucumber + mustardtop 3% of all pairs
   Smell alikestrong
   Cooked together2,281 recipes

   Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).

3. Pepper + celerytop 5% of all pairs
   Smell alikestrong
   Cooked together16,012 recipes

   Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).

4. Onion + mustardtop 6% of all pairs
   Smell alikestrong
   Cooked together9,259 recipes

   Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).

5. Onion + celerytop 7% of all pairs
   Smell alikemoderate
   Cooked together18,518 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

Cucumber rind

Forms the crisp, bulky body of the salad.

Coarse sea salt

Draws water out of the vegetables, softening them and concentrating flavor.

Cold vinegar

Adds acidity that brightens the salad and helps preserve it.

Mustard seed

Contributes a sharp, pungent flavor that deepens as it steeps.

The step that matters

Swap the onion

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (cucumber, pepper, mustard, vinegar, celery):

1. Lettucefits better
2. Horseradishfits better
3. Radishfits better
4. Onionthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against cucumber, pepper, mustard, vinegar, celery. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.