Name: Nasturtium Salad
Ingredients: 2 oz. nasturtium leaves and flowers, shredded; 1 oz. lettuce, shredded; ½ oz. peanuts or shelled walnuts, chopped or flaked; 1 oz. lemon or rhubarb juice; ½ oz. olive oil

Why it works: Lettuce and olive match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 5% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 2,580 recipes. Both carry trans-2-hexenal, which smells green, leafy. The science ↓

Nasturtium Salad

Ingredients

2 oz. nasturtium leaves and flowers, shredded
1 oz. lettuce, shredded
½ oz. peanuts or shelled walnuts, chopped or flaked
1 oz. lemon or rhubarb juice
½ oz. olive oil

Directions

Combine the shredded nasturtium leaves and flowers with the shredded lettuce.
Place the mixture in a lettuce leaf.
Garnish with chopped or flaked peanuts or walnuts.
Drizzle with lemon or rhubarb juice and olive oil.

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.

Lettuce + olivetop 5% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together2,580 recipes

Shared aroma: trans-2-hexenal (green, leafy).
Lettuce + peanuttop 7% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together170 recipes

Shared aroma: 2-isobutyl-3-methoxypyrazine (green bell pepper, earthy).
Peanut + olivetop 7% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together1,027 recipes

Shared aroma: 2-undecenal (sweet).
Lemon + olivetop 7% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together11,922 recipes

Shared aroma: 3-hexenal (apple, fruity).
Lettuce + lemontop 9% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together1,559 recipes

Shared aroma: trans-2-hexenal (green, leafy).

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

What each ingredient does

Nasturtium leaves and flowers: Provide a peppery, fresh flavour as the salad's main base.
Lettuce: Adds bulk and a crisp, tender texture to the salad.
Peanuts or walnuts: Add crunch and a rich, nutty flavour against the leaves.
Lemon or rhubarb juice: Brings acidity that brightens the greens and balances the oil.
Olive oil: Adds fat and smooth mouthfeel that carries the flavours of the dressing.