Why it works: Lime and avocado match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and 1,117 recipes mention both. Both carry trans-2-hexenal, which smells green, leafy. The science ↓
The recipe
6 servingsIngredients
Contains: egg, milk, tree nuts (auto-detected from the ingredients and method; we can miss things, so check labels)
Directions
Method written by CompKitchen from the ingredient list. Not the original author's method, not kitchen-tested.
Empty the lime gelatin mix into a bowl, pour in the boiling water, and stir for about 2 minutes until fully dissolved.
Beat the softened cream cheese in a separate bowl until smooth, then gradually whisk in the dissolved gelatin until combined.
Stir in the mashed avocado, chopped celery, half the mayonnaise, the salt, and the onion juice if using.
Chill the mixture for about 15 minutes, until it thickens slightly but is not yet set.
Fold the toasted pecan halves into the thickened mixture, then pour it into a mold rinsed with cold water.
Cover the mold and chill for at least 4 hours, until firm.
Whisk the remaining mayonnaise with the confectioners' sugar and lemon juice, adjusting the sugar and lemon to taste, to make the dressing.
To serve, dip the mold briefly in warm water, invert it onto the rinsed butter lettuce leaves, and spoon the dressing over the top.
Explore the science
The flavor team
The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much aroma chemistry they share, and how many recipes mention both.
-
Lime + avocadotop 1% of all pairsAroma overlapstrongMentioned together1,117 recipes
Shared aroma: trans-2-hexenal (green, leafy).
-
Avocado + lettucetop 2% of all pairsAroma overlapstrongMentioned together464 recipes
Shared aroma: trans-2-hexenal (green, leafy).
-
Cream cheese + buttertop 3% of all pairsAroma overlapstrongMentioned together2,746 recipes
Shared aroma: ethyl octanoate (fruity, wine).
-
Celery + lettucetop 3% of all pairsAroma overlapstrongMentioned together2,033 recipes
Shared aroma: nonanal (fat, citrus).
-
Lime + celerytop 4% of all pairsAroma overlapstrongMentioned together305 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
Flavor stand-ins for the onion
The recipe marks onion as optional. How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (lime, cream cheese, celery, avocado, butter, lettuce, sugar):
- Cucumberbetter flavor fit
- Tomatobetter flavor fit
- Capsicumbetter flavor fit
- Onionthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against lime, cream cheese, celery, avocado, butter, lettuce, sugar. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes. This compares flavor only: it does not check the job the ingredient does in the dish (bulk, moisture, acidity, structure).
The Sunday pairing: one pairing, the chemistry behind it, and how to cook it. No spam, unsubscribe anytime.
Prefer an account? Create a free account for sign-in; Pro adds the full results and chemistry.