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 Salad
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare the lettuce
Wash the lettuce and break it into small pieces.
Drain the lettuce thoroughly using a cloth.
Dress and serve
In a large bowl, mix the salad oil, vinegar, and salt.
Toss the lettuce in the dressing just before serving.
Serve in a salad bowl.
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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Lettuce + vinegartop 14% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together2,370 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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 body of the salad and carries the dressing.
- Salad oil
- Coats the leaves, giving a smooth mouthfeel and helping the dressing cling.
- Vinegar
- Adds acidity that brightens the flavour and balances the oil.
The step that matters
Drain the lettuce thoroughly. Any water left on the leaves dilutes the dressing and stops the oil and vinegar from clinging evenly. Dry leaves stay crisp and hold the dressing better.
“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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