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Salt vs Vinegar: shared flavor compounds

38 of 150 flavor compounds are shared (Jaccard 0.25) — the molecular basis for whether Salt and Vinegar pair well or work as substitutes. Full side-by-side breakdown below.

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Two ingredients gives the full side-by-side breakdown; add a third to see a similarity matrix across all of them (up to 6).

38
Shared
42
Salt reported
146
Vinegar reported
0.25
Jaccard
Thin evidence for this pair. We hold no distinguishing chemistry for salt: every compound on it appears in more than 10% of ingredients, so this score is computed over the background every food shares. Distinguishing compounds held — Salt: 0, Vinegar: 59. The graph median is 12.

“Reported” counts reflect the compounds characterized for each ingredient across the studies and databases we aggregate — a measure of coverage, not an exhaustive census. Different analyses target different compound classes and methods, so read these as what has been characterized, not the total number of molecules present. Jaccard measures shared coverage, so it rewards overlap rather than highlighting the ratio differences that distinguish two ingredients.

Why they pair: shared-compound network

12 of 38 shared shown

Each molecule in the middle is shared by both ingredients — the chemistry bridging Salt and Vinegar. Node color is chemical class and node size is perceptual potency (bigger = lower odor threshold, so it drives aroma at smaller amounts); a copper ring marks compounds flagged as key aromas in published GC-O studies. Zoom with the +/− buttons or a pinch, drag the background to pan, drag a node to pin it, click any molecule for its full profile.

Showing the 12 highest-impact of 38 shared compounds (key aromas first). Sign in for the full network, including the compounds unique to each ingredient.

Where they differ: aroma character

Profile distance 0.50

The Jaccard above measures overlap; this compares each ingredient’s aroma-family mix side by side — the wider the gap between the two bars, the more that family sets the ingredients apart. Salt reads left, Vinegar reads right.

45.0%
Other
14.0%
2.5%
Fruity
20.6%
37.5%
Sour
22.8%
0.0%
Caramel
5.9%
0.0%
Green
5.1%
0.0%
Spicy
5.1%
7.5%
Floral
12.5%
0.0%
Dairy
4.4%
0.0%
Herbal
2.2%
2.5%
Chemical
0.7%
Salt ◀ ▶ Vinegar

Shares are fractions of each ingredient’s labeled compounds (40 of 42 for Salt, 136 of 146 for Vinegar) — compositional lean, not concentration. Aroma labels come from our compound enrichment and cover most, but not all, characterized molecules.

Pro names the molecules behind each difference — the specific compounds in each aroma family that one ingredient has and the other doesn’t. Sign in to see them.

Published recipes using both

100+ found

Real dishes from our 610K+ curated recipe corpus that combine salt and vinegar — proof the pairing works in practice.

99+ more recipes use both ingredients. Pro shows up to 10 published dishes per comparison — a head-start for menu development and recipe testing.

Shared compounds

38 of 150 total

These are the molecules both ingredients have in common — the chemistry behind why they pair. Grouped by chemical class; ★ marks compounds flagged as key aromas in published GC-O studies. Click any molecule for its identifiers (CAS, formula, PubChem CID), odor data, and every ingredient it’s found in.

Most perceptually potent shared compounds

16 of 38 shared are aroma compounds with a measured threshold

Odor threshold is the concentration at which a molecule becomes smellable — lower = more potent. These clear their threshold most easily, so they drive the shared aroma out of proportion to the raw shared count.

Showing the 6 most potent of 16 with measured thresholds. Sign in for the full ranked list.

Showing the 5 highest-impact of 38 shared compounds (key aromas first) — sign in for the full list, grouped by chemical class with key-aroma markers.

See 4 salt-only and 108 vinegar-only compounds with Pro

Side-by-side ingredient comparison — including the unique compounds in each ingredient — is a Pro feature.

Try the pairing tools for full recipe-aware scoring, or explore salt's profile.

Cite this analysis
Plain text
Compound Kitchen (2026). Compound similarity analysis: Salt vs Vinegar. https://compkitchen.com/compare?a=salt&b=vinegar. Accessed 2026-09-28.
BibTeX
@misc{compkitchen_compare_compound_similarity_analysis_salt_vs_vinegar_2026,
  title  = {Compound similarity analysis: Salt vs Vinegar},
  author = {{Compound Kitchen}},
  year   = {2026},
  url    = {https://compkitchen.com/compare?a=salt&b=vinegar},
  note   = {Accessed: 2026-09-28}
}

Methodology DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.19719459 · CC BY 4.0 · Citations are a request, not a requirement.