Name: Asparagus and Ego Salad
Ingredients: Asparagus, whole; 4 hard-boiled eggs; Lettuce; Stiff mayonnaise; Grated cheese

Why it works: Asparagus and lettuce match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 2% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 313 recipes. Both carry 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine, which smells earthy, pea. The science ↓

Asparagus and Ego Salad

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare

Cook and chill the whole asparagus.
Cut the hard-boiled eggs into lengthwise quarters.

Assemble and serve

Arrange the asparagus on a plate with lettuce and surround it with the egg quarters.
Put spoonfuls of stiff mayonnaise around the edge.
Sprinkle grated cheese over the asparagus.

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.

Asparagus + lettucetop 2% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together313 recipes

Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
Asparagus + cheesetop 17% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together219 recipes

Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
Asparagus + eggtop 17% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together1,338 recipes

Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
Lettuce + cheesetop 18% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together614 recipes

Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
Egg + cheesetop 28% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together6,253 recipes

Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).

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

What each ingredient does

Eggs: Provide the main body and protein of the salad, with their firm white and yolk contrasting the asparagus.
Stiff mayonnaise: Adds fat and creamy richness that moistens the salad and balances the mild vegetables.
Asparagus: Supplies the main vegetable element, with a tender-crisp texture once cooked and chilled.
Grated cheese: Adds salty, savory flavor and a little fat over the asparagus.