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Dirty Martini

Butter-wouldn’t-melt Sophie Dahl adds olive brine to this classic combo of vodka and vermouth to dirty up her Martini.

By bbcfood · From Open Recipes · 5 ingredients
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Dirty Martini

Why it works: Vodka and vermouth share more aroma than cooks usually use. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 29 recipes. Both carry ethanol, which smells alcoholic, ethereal. The science ↓

Dirty Martini

Serves 1
Prep30 min

Ingredients

Directions

Step-by-step directions aren't available for this recipe. See the full recipe at the source →

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

16Calories
0 gProtein
0 gFat
4 gCarbs

Counts 2 of 4 ingredients. The other 2 aren't in our nutrition table and add nothing above, so the real totals are higher.

What these numbers assume: 2 portions
IngredientPortion assumedkcal
Lemonjuice of 1 lemon (48ml)12
Olive1 large (4g)4
Vodkanot in our table0
Vermouthnot in our table0

One typical portion per ingredient; the recipe's quantities are not counted. A rough guide only, not for medical or dietary planning.

By bbcfood. Recipe from Open Recipes.

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.

  1. Vodka + vermouthtop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together29 recipes

    Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).

  2. Olive + lemontop 7% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together11,922 recipes

    Shared aroma: 3-hexenal (apple, fruity).

  3. Vermouth + olivetop 15% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together168 recipes

    Shared aroma: linalool (floral, citrus).

  4. Vermouth + lemontop 18% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together154 recipes

    Shared aroma: linalool (floral, citrus).

  5. Vodka + lemontop 18% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together264 recipes

    Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).

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

Swap the lemon

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (vodka, vermouth, olive):

  1. Limefits about as well
  2. Lemonthe original
  3. Cherryfits less well
  4. Orangefits less well

Fit is the average pairing score against vodka, vermouth, olive. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.