Name: Cabbage Salad for 25 Persons
Ingredients: 1 large cabbage; 1 pint boiled dressing; 3 pints cream (before whipping); 3 cans pimentos; 1 cup chopped celery (if desired)

Why it works: Cabbage and celery are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 6% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 1,840 recipes. Both carry 4'-methylacetophenone, which smells bitter almond. The science ↓

Cabbage Salad for 25 Persons

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare

Chop the cabbage and place it in a large bowl.
In a separate bowl, mix the boiled dressing and cream.
Add the pimentos and chopped celery to the cabbage.

Dress and serve

Pour the dressing mixture over the cabbage and toss to combine.

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.

Cabbage + celerytop 6% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together1,840 recipes

Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).
Cream + celerytop 18% of all pairs

Smell alikelow

Cooked together3,863 recipes

Shared aroma: gamma-decalactone (peach, creamy).
Cabbage + creamtop 31% of all pairs

Smell alikelow

Cooked together778 recipes

Shared aroma: acetic acid (sour, vinegar).

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

What each ingredient does

Cabbage: Forms the bulk of the salad and gives it a crisp, crunchy texture.
Boiled dressing: Adds moisture and a creamy coating that clings to the cabbage.
Cream: Adds richness and a smooth texture to the dressing.
Pimentos: Add color and a mild, sweet flavor to the salad.