Why it works: Avocado and coconut share more aroma than cooks usually use. They rank in the top 4% of all ingredient pairs, and 73 recipes mention both. Both carry gamma-nonanolactone, which smells coconut, creamy. The science ↓
The recipe
4 servingsIngredients
Contains: 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.
Whisk the nonfat vanilla yogurt and honey together in a small bowl until smooth.
For more flavor, toast the flaked coconut and slivered almonds in a dry skillet over medium heat for 3 to 4 minutes, stirring often, until light golden. Let cool.
Place the diced Red Delicious apples, diced avocado and fresh blueberries in a large bowl and gently fold to combine.
Pour the honey yogurt over the fruit and toss gently until everything is evenly coated.
Fold in most of the coconut and almonds, reserving a small amount of each for topping.
Transfer to a serving bowl, sprinkle with the reserved coconut and almonds, and serve right away so the avocado stays bright.
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.
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Avocado + coconuttop 4% of all pairsAroma overlapstrongMentioned together73 recipes
Shared aroma: gamma-nonanolactone (coconut, creamy).
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Coconut + vanillatop 2% of all pairsAroma overlapstrongMentioned together2,294 recipes
Shared aroma: ethyl caproate (fruity, apple peel).
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Yogurt + honeytop 3% of all pairsAroma overlapmoderateMentioned together659 recipes
Shared aroma: ethyl octanoate (fruity).
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Apple + honeytop 3% of all pairsAroma overlapstrongMentioned together567 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).
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Vanilla + honeytop 4% of all pairsAroma overlapstrongMentioned together1,262 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
Flavor stand-ins for the almond
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (apple, avocado, coconut, vanilla, yogurt, honey):
- Almondthe original
- Pecansabout as good a flavor fit
- Flaxseedabout as good a flavor fit
- Peanutabout as good a flavor fit
Fit is the average pairing score against apple, avocado, coconut, vanilla, yogurt, honey. 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).
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