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Jansson's Temptation

"Who Jansson is, we may never know, but this meal is an absolute must on a cold and frigid evening. You might be put off by the inclusion of anchovies, but you will be really surprised at how well the saltiness of the fish works in this dish. If the anchovies are a definite 'no', then substitute smoked salmon. It won't have the same saltiness in each bite, but the salmon can be just as delicious in its own right. This is the one recipe that I get requests for after parties and there is always an amusing display of disbelief afterwards when the inclusion of anchovies is revealed."

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Jansson's Temptation

Why it works: Onion and potato are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 3% of all ingredient pairs, and 9,023 recipes mention both. Both carry 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine, which smells earthy, pea. The science ↓

Jansson's Temptation

1 - 9x13 inch pan
Prep30 min
Cook45 min

Ingredients

Directions

Step-by-step directions aren't available for this recipe. See the full recipe at the source →

By allrecipes. Recipe from Open Recipes.

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.

  1. Onion + potatotop 3% of all pairs
    Aroma overlapmoderate
    Mentioned together9,023 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).

  2. Bread + buttertop 7% of all pairs
    Aroma overlapmoderate
    Mentioned together27,232 recipes

    Shared aroma: delta-decalactone (sweet, creamy).

  3. Cream + buttertop 8% of all pairs
    Aroma overlapmoderate
    Mentioned together41,516 recipes

    Shared aroma: delta-dodecalactone (sweet, creamy).

  4. Potato + buttertop 13% of all pairs
    Aroma overlapmoderate
    Mentioned together6,456 recipes

    Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).

  5. Onion + buttertop 15% of all pairs
    Aroma overlapmoderate
    Mentioned together42,912 recipes

    Shared aroma: decanal (soap, orange peel).

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

Flavor stand-ins for the onion

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (potato, cream, bread, butter):

  1. Onionthe original
  2. Leekabout as good a flavor fit
  3. Chiveabout as good a flavor fit
  4. Asparagusabout as good a flavor fit

Fit is the average pairing score against potato, cream, bread, butter. 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).