Name: Nasturtium Salad
Ingredients: Nasturtium leaves; Nasturtium flowers; olive oil; vinegar; salt; pepper

Why it works: Olive and vinegar are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 10% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 12,297 recipes. Both carry isoamyl acetate, which smells banana, fruity. The science ↓

Nasturtium Salad

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare

Pick a sufficient quantity of nasturtium leaves and flowers.
Wash and dry the leaves and flowers.

Dress and serve

In a bowl, combine the leaves and flowers with olive oil and vinegar to taste.
Season with salt and pepper.
Toss gently and serve.

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.

Olive + vinegartop 10% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together12,297 recipes

Shared aroma: isoamyl acetate (banana, fruity).
Olive + peppertop 11% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together30,263 recipes

Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).
Vinegar + peppertop 14% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together27,814 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

Nasturtium leaves: Provide the main leafy body and a peppery, slightly sharp flavour.
Nasturtium flowers: Add delicate colour and a mild peppery note to the salad.
Olive oil: Coats the leaves and flowers, adding richness and a smooth mouthfeel.
Vinegar: Adds acidity that brightens the flavour and balances the oil.

“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.