Why it works: Tomato and rice match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 6% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 3,065 recipes. Both carry trans-2-nonenal, which smells cardboard, fatty. The science ↓
Curried Venison
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare
Cut the venison into pieces.
Combine and bake
In a bowl, combine the chopped tomatoes, flour, onions, curry paste, sugar, apple, rice, and milk.
Place the mixture in a paper bag and seal it.
Cook in a moderate oven at 350°F (175°C) for 45 minutes.
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.
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Tomato + ricetop 6% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together3,065 recipes
Shared aroma: trans-2-nonenal (cardboard, fatty).
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Rice + milktop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together7,374 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
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Tomato + oniontop 8% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together20,633 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
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Onion + ricetop 9% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together10,433 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).
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Apple + milktop 11% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together4,104 recipes
Shared aroma: 4-heptenal (creamy, biscuit).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Venison
- Lean meat that provides the main protein and body of the curry.
- Onions
- Soften and sweeten as they cook, building a savoury base for the sauce.
- Flour
- Thickens the liquid into a smooth, cohesive sauce.
- Milk
- Adds moisture and mellows the sharpness of the curry spices.
- Rice
- Absorbs liquid and thickens the sauce as it cooks.
- Apple
- Adds natural sweetness and body to balance the spices.
The step that matters
Sealing the paper bag. A tightly sealed bag traps steam and moisture, so the mixture cooks gently in its own liquid. If the seal leaks, the sauce can dry out or scorch before the meat is tender.
Swap the apple
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (venison, tomato, flour, onion, sugar, rice, milk):
- Avocadofits better
- Cherryfits better
- Coconutfits better
- Applethe original
Fit is the average pairing score against venison, tomato, flour, onion, sugar, rice, milk. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.
“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.
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