Why it works: Onion and pepper are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 11% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 68,474 recipes. Both carry 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine, which smells earthy, pea. The science ↓
Salmon Salad
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare
Chop 4 hard-boiled eggs and set aside the remaining 2.
Mix and garnish
In a bowl, mix the salmon, chopped onions, and chopped eggs.
Season the mixture with salt, pepper, and vinegar.
Garnish with the sliced remaining 2 hard-boiled eggs.
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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Onion + peppertop 11% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together68,474 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
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Onion + vinegartop 14% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together18,226 recipes
Shared aroma: acetic acid (sour, vinegar).
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Pepper + vinegartop 14% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together27,814 recipes
Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).
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Salmon + eggtop 16% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together3,485 recipes
Shared aroma: decanal (soap, orange peel).
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Salmon + oniontop 19% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together3,529 recipes
Shared aroma: decanal (soap, orange peel).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Salmon
- Forms the flaky body of the salad.
- Onions
- Add sharp aroma and a bit of crunch.
- Eggs
- Add richness and a soft, creamy texture.
- Vinegar
- Adds acidity that brightens the flavor of the salmon.
Swap the onion
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (salmon, egg, pepper, vinegar):
- Cucumberfits better
- Capsicumfits better
- Mustardfits better
- Onionthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against salmon, egg, 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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