Name: Pork Ribs Piquant
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 3 h 10 min
Yield: 4 servings
Ingredients: 1/2 cup all-purpose flour, or as needed; 1 1/2 pounds boneless country-style pork ribs; 1 tablespoon vegetable oil; 2 tablespoons butter; 1 onion, chopped; 1/2 cup ketchup; 2 tablespoons vinegar; 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce; 2 tablespoons brown sugar; 2 tablespoons dry mustard; 1/2 teaspoon salt; 1 cup water

Why it works: Ketchup and sauce match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and 1,099 recipes mention both. Both carry ethanol, which smells alcoholic, ethereal. The science ↓

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.

Ketchup + saucetop 1% of all pairs

Aroma overlapstrong

Mentioned together1,099 recipes

Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
Ketchup + sugartop 8% of all pairs

Aroma overlapstrong

Mentioned together260 recipes

Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
Pork + oniontop 10% of all pairs

Aroma overlapmoderate

Mentioned together18,214 recipes

Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
Flour + buttertop 12% of all pairs

Aroma overlaplow

Mentioned together124,287 recipes

Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
Pork + buttertop 13% of all pairs

Aroma overlapmoderate

Mentioned together13,933 recipes

Shared aroma: 2-furfurylthiol (coffee, roasted).

Flour and butter share little aroma chemistry, yet 124,287 recipes mention both: they likely work on texture and structure more than aroma.

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 (flour, pork, butter, ketchup, vinegar, sauce, sugar):

Mustardbetter flavor fit
Shallotbetter flavor fit
Capsicumbetter flavor fit
Onionthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against flour, pork, butter, ketchup, vinegar, sauce, sugar. 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).

Pork Ribs Piquant