Skip to main content

Man-Catching Meat Loaf

"The meat loaf that made my boyfriend propose uses beef, veal, and Italian sausage."

Jump to recipe ↓
Man-Catching Meat Loaf

Why it works: Oregano and basil match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 1,390 recipes. Both carry estragole, which smells anise, licorice. The science ↓

Man-Catching Meat Loaf

6 servings
Prep25 min
Cook55 min

Ingredients

Directions

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

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

1321Calories
83 gProtein
52 gFat
125 gCarbs

Counts 17 of 19 ingredients. The other 2 aren't in our nutrition table and add nothing above, so the real totals are higher.

What these numbers assume: 17 portions
IngredientPortion assumedkcal
Flour1 cup (125g) all-purpose455
Beef100g cooked250
Pork100g cooked242
Butter1 tbsp (14g)102
Egg1 large egg (50g)78
Onion1 medium (110g)44
Bacon1 slice cooked (8g)43
Bell Pepper1 medium (119g)31
Tomato1 medium (123g)22
Mushroom1/2 cup sliced (35g)15
Turmeric1 tsp ground (3g)9
Soy Sauce1 tbsp (15ml)9
Chili1 tsp (2.7g)8
Oregano1 tsp dried (1.8g)5
Garlic1 clove (3g)4
Mustard1 tsp (5g) yellow3
Basil5 leaves fresh (2.5g)1
Vealnot in our table0
Saucenot in our table0

One typical portion per ingredient; the recipe's quantities are not counted. A rough guide only, not for medical or dietary planning.

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 their aromas overlap, and how often cooks already put them together.

  1. Oregano + basiltop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together1,390 recipes

    Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).

  2. Onion + garlictop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together29,058 recipes

    Shared aroma: furaneol (caramel, strawberry).

  3. Tomato + basiltop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together3,979 recipes

    Shared aroma: 3-hexenal (apple, fruity).

  4. Tomato + oreganotop 2% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together2,767 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-hexenal (green, leafy).

  5. Garlic + oreganotop 2% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together3,756 recipes

    Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).

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

Swap the onion

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (butter, pepper, mushroom, garlic, tomato, oregano, basil):

  1. Eggplantfits better
  2. Capsicumfits better
  3. Spinachfits better
  4. Onionthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against butter, pepper, mushroom, garlic, tomato, oregano, basil. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.