Why it works: Mustard and pork are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 5% of all ingredient pairs, and 2,440 recipes mention both. Both carry 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine, which smells earthy, pea. The science ↓
The recipe
4 servingsIngredients
Contains: milk, wheat (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.
Stir together the picante sauce and honey mustard in a small saucepan.
Warm the sauce over medium heat for 3 to 4 minutes, stirring, until hot but not boiling.
Toast the split hamburger buns cut side up under a broiler or in a skillet for 1 to 2 minutes until lightly golden.
Layer the deli roast pork in a single pass in a skillet over medium heat and warm for 1 to 2 minutes until heated through.
Place a slice of provolone over the warm pork and cover the pan for 30 seconds to melt the cheese.
Spread a spoonful of the warm sauce on the bottom halves of the toasted buns.
Top each bun with the pork and cheese, then add a pile of thinly cut spinach strips.
Close the sandwiches with the top bun halves and serve right away with the remaining sauce on the side.
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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Mustard + porktop 5% of all pairsAroma overlapmoderateMentioned together2,440 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
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Honey + wheattop 4% of all pairsAroma overlapstrongMentioned together346 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-acetyl-1-pyrroline (popcorn, roasted).
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Mustard + spinachtop 4% of all pairsAroma overlapstrongMentioned together503 recipes
Shared aroma: trans-2-hexenal (green, leafy).
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Wheat + spinachtop 5% of all pairsAroma overlapstrongMentioned together149 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-undecenal (sweet).
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Pork + provolone cheesetop 6% of all pairsAroma overlapstrongMentioned together100 recipes
Shared aroma: gamma-decalactone (peach, creamy).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
Flavor stand-ins for the spinach
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (sauce, honey, mustard, pork, wheat, provolone cheese):
- Tomatobetter flavor fit
- Capsicumbetter flavor fit
- Potatobetter flavor fit
- Spinachthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against sauce, honey, mustard, pork, wheat, provolone cheese. 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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