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Salsify Salad

A salad of cooked salsify, seasoned with salt, pepper, olive oil, vinegar, gherkins, and parsley.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 7 ingredients
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Why it works: Pepper and parsley match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 2% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 34,122 recipes. Both carry 4'-methylacetophenone, which smells bitter almond. The science ↓

Salsify Salad

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare

  1. Prepare and cook the salsify as directed in a previous recipe.

  2. Drain the salsify and let it cool.

  3. Slice the cooled salsify into small stems about two inches long.

Dress and serve

  1. In a salad bowl, combine the salsify, salt, pepper, sweet oil, and vinegar.

  2. Add the finely-sliced gherkins and mix well.

  3. Dress the salad nicely and sprinkle with finely chopped parsley.

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.

  1. Pepper + parsleytop 2% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together34,122 recipes

    Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).

  2. Olive + parsleytop 6% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together9,649 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).

  3. Olive + vinegartop 10% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together12,297 recipes

    Shared aroma: isoamyl acetate (banana, fruity).

  4. Pepper + olivetop 11% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together30,263 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).

  5. Pepper + vinegartop 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

Salsify
Forms the main body of the salad, providing its texture and bulk.
Sweet oil (olive oil)
Carries flavour and adds a smooth, rich mouthfeel to the dressing.
Vinegar
Adds acidity that brightens the dressing and balances the oil.
Finely-sliced gherkins
Add a sharp, tangy crunch that contrasts with the soft salsify.

Swap the parsley

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

  1. Garlicfits about as well
  2. Tarragonfits about as well
  3. Basilfits about as well
  4. Parsleythe original

Fit is the average pairing score against pepper, olive, 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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