Name: Elaine's Big Garden Salad Recipe
Yield: 8 servings
Ingredients: 10 ounces butter lettuce, torn into bite-size pieces; 1 1/2 cups pear tomatoes; 2 medium carrots, sliced paper thin on the bias; 1/2 medium English cucumber, halved lengthwise and sliced paper thin on the bias; 1 cup thinly sliced radishes

Why it works: Lettuce and cucumber match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 1,409 recipes. Both carry 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine, which smells earthy, pea. The science ↓

Elaine's Big Garden Salad Recipe

8 servings

Ingredients

10 ounces butter lettuce, torn into bite-size pieces
1 1/2 cups pear tomatoes
2 medium carrots, sliced paper thin on the bias
1/2 medium English cucumber, halved lengthwise and sliced paper thin on the bias
1 cup thinly sliced radishes

Directions

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

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

271Calories

4 gProtein

12 gFat

42 gCarbs

What these numbers assume: 6 portions

Ingredient	Portion assumed	kcal
Butter	1 tbsp (14g)	102
Pear	1 medium (178g)	101
Carrot	1 medium (61g)	25
Tomato	1 medium (123g)	22
Cucumber	1/2 cup sliced (52g)	16
Lettuce	1 cup shredded (36g)	5

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

By chow. 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.

Lettuce + cucumbertop 1% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together1,409 recipes

Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
Cucumber + radishtop 1% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together212 recipes

Shared aroma: eucalyptol (eucalyptus, herbal).
Lettuce + radishtop 2% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together58 recipes

Shared aroma: trans-2-hexenal (green, leafy).
Tomato + cucumbertop 4% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together2,405 recipes

Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
Tomato + carrottop 6% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together3,606 recipes

Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).

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

Swap the pear

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (butter, lettuce, tomato, carrot, cucumber, radish):

Avocadofits better
Limefits better
Cherryfits better
Pearthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against butter, lettuce, tomato, carrot, cucumber, radish. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.

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