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Cucumber & Fennel Salad

This refreshing side salad is low-fat, superhealthy and full of summer flavour

By bbcgoodfood · From Open Recipes · 7 ingredients
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Cucumber & Fennel Salad

Why it works: Fennel and dill match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 122 recipes. Both carry 4-methoxybenzaldehyde, which smells sweet, anise. The science ↓

Cucumber & Fennel Salad

Serves 4
Prep15 min

Ingredients

Directions

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

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

162Calories
3 gProtein
6 gFat
27 gCarbs
What these numbers assume: 7 portions
IngredientPortion assumedkcal
Cream1 tbsp (15ml) heavy51
Sugar1 tbsp (12.5g) granulated49
Fennel Bulb1/2 bulb (87g)27
Cucumber1/2 cup sliced (52g)16
Lemonjuice of 1 lemon (48ml)12
Dill5 sprigs fresh (1g) / 1 tsp dried4
Vinegar1 tbsp (15ml) distilled3

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. Fennel + dilltop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together122 recipes

    Shared aroma: 4-methoxybenzaldehyde (sweet, anise).

  2. Lemon + dilltop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together976 recipes

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

  3. Fennel + lemontop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together723 recipes

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

  4. Cucumber + dilltop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together530 recipes

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

  5. Cucumber + fenneltop 8% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together126 recipes

    Shared aroma: eucalyptol (eucalyptus, herbal).

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

Swap the cucumber

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (sugar, fennel, cream, lemon, white wine, vinegar, dill):

  1. Shallotfits better
  2. Mustardfits about as well
  3. Beetrootfits about as well
  4. Cucumberthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against sugar, fennel, cream, lemon, white wine, vinegar, dill. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.