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Sheila's Sweet Salad Dressing

My boyfriend's mother made this for a family dinner a couple weeks ago, now I'm making it again and again! Delish.

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Sheila's Sweet Salad Dressing

Why it works: Broccoli and cauliflower match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 127 recipes. Both carry 4'-methylacetophenone, which smells bitter almond. The science ↓

Sheila's Sweet Salad Dressing

Serves 7

Ingredients

Directions

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

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

282Calories
7 gProtein
15 gFat
33 gCarbs

Counts 10 of 11 ingredients. The other 1 aren't in our nutrition table and add nothing above, so the real totals are higher.

What these numbers assume: 10 portions
IngredientPortion assumedkcal
Olive Oil1 tbsp (14g)119
Broccoli1 cup chopped (156g)55
Sugar1 tbsp (12.5g) granulated49
Tomato1 medium (123g)22
Soy Sauce1 tbsp (15ml)9
Clove1 tsp ground (2g)7
Almond1 almond (1.2g)7
Spinach1 cup raw (30g)7
Garlic1 clove (3g)4
Vinegar1 tbsp (15ml) distilled3
Saladnot 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 bbcgoodfood. 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. Broccoli + cauliflowertop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together127 recipes

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

  2. Clove + gingertop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together6,038 recipes

    Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).

  3. Garlic + broccolitop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together2,072 recipes

    Shared aroma: linalool (floral, citrus).

  4. Garlic + cauliflowertop 6% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together124 recipes

    Shared aroma: coumarin (sweet, hay).

  5. Garlic + gingertop 6% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together6,402 recipes

    Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).

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

Swap the ginger

The recipe marks ginger as optional. How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (sugar, vinegar, sauce, garlic, clove, broccoli, cauliflower):

  1. Capersfits better
  2. Turmericfits about as well
  3. Tarragonfits about as well
  4. Gingerthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against sugar, vinegar, sauce, garlic, clove, broccoli, cauliflower. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.