Why it works: Apple cider vinegar and cider share more aroma than cooks usually use. They rank in the top 5% of all ingredient pairs, and 30 recipes mention both. Both carry ethyl octanoate, which smells fruity. The science ↓
The recipe
6 pork chopsIngredients
Contains: milk (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.
Pat the pork chops dry and season both sides generously with salt and black pepper.
Heat the vegetable oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat until shimmering.
Cook the pork chops in batches for 4 to 5 minutes per side, until browned and the thickest part reaches at least 145°F (63°C), then rest 3 minutes on a plate.
Lower the heat to medium and melt the butter in the same skillet. Add the garlic, rosemary and red pepper flakes and cook for 30 seconds, stirring.
Pour in the apple cider vinegar and scrape up the browned bits from the pan.
Add the apple cider and simmer over medium heat for 10 to 12 minutes, until reduced by about half and slightly syrupy.
Stir in the Dijon mustard and season the glaze with a little salt and pepper.
Return the pork chops and any juices to the pan, spoon the glaze over them, and simmer 2 minutes to heat through before serving.
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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Apple cider vinegar + cidertop 5% of all pairsAroma overlapstrongMentioned together30 recipes
Shared aroma: ethyl octanoate (fruity).
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Apple + cidertop 1% of all pairsAroma overlapstrongMentioned together1,042 recipes
Shared aroma: ethyl 2-methylbutyrate (fruity, apple).
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Pepper + garlictop 5% of all pairsAroma overlapmoderateMentioned together27,044 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).
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Garlic + mustardtop 5% of all pairsAroma overlapstrongMentioned together4,037 recipes
Shared aroma: linalool (floral, citrus).
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Pork + mustardtop 5% of all pairsAroma overlapmoderateMentioned together2,440 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
Flavor stand-ins for the garlic
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (pork, pepper, butter, apple cider vinegar, apple, cider, mustard):
- Thymebetter flavor fit
- Celerybetter flavor fit
- Clovebetter flavor fit
- Garlicthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against pork, pepper, butter, apple cider vinegar, apple, cider, mustard. 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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