Why it works: Cabbage and pepper are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 5% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 4,081 recipes. Both carry 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine, which smells earthy, pea. The science ↓
Hot Slaw
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare the slaw
Slice the cabbage finely and season with salt.
Place in a steamer over boiling potatoes.
Once warmed through, remove from the steamer and press out the water.
Finish and mix
Add pork gravy, pepper, finely sliced onion, and vinegar.
Mix thoroughly with a fork.
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.
Photo for illustrative purposes only · Contact us to use it
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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Cabbage + peppertop 5% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together4,081 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
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Cabbage + oniontop 7% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together3,001 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
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Pork + oniontop 10% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together18,214 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
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Pepper + oniontop 11% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together68,474 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
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Cabbage + vinegartop 13% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together2,924 recipes
Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Cabbage
- Forms the bulk of the dish and softens as it steams, becoming tender to eat.
- Pork gravy
- Adds moisture and savory flavor that coats the cabbage.
- Onion
- Adds sharp, aromatic flavor that mellows slightly with the warm cabbage.
- Vinegar
- Adds acidity that brightens the rich gravy and balances the cabbage.
The step that matters
Press out the water after steaming. Cabbage releases a lot of water as it cooks. Pressing it out keeps the slaw from becoming soggy and stops the gravy and vinegar from being diluted.
Swap the onion
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (cabbage, pork, pepper, vinegar):
- Mustardfits better
- Capsicumfits better
- Lettucefits about as well
- Onionthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against cabbage, pork, pepper, vinegar. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.
“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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