Name: Southern-Style Focaccia
Cook time: 25 min
Yield: 1 focaccia
Ingredients: 1 teaspoon honey; 1 package dry yeast (about 2 1/4 teaspoons); 1 1/4 cups warm water (100° to 110°), divided; 2 tablespoons olive oil; 3 1/4 cups all-purpose flour, divided; 1 teaspoon kosher salt, divided; Cooking spray; 2 medium Vidalia onions, sauteed in a little olive oil and seasoned lightly with salt and pepper; Several slices of thinly sliced local country ham (preferably from a local farmer); Extra-virgin Olive oil; Sea salt

Why it works: Olive and onion are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 8% of all ingredient pairs, and 29,779 recipes mention both. Both carry 2,4-decadienal, which smells seaweed. 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.

Olive + oniontop 8% of all pairs

Aroma overlapmoderate

Mentioned together29,779 recipes

Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).
Onion + peppertop 11% of all pairs

Aroma overlapmoderate

Mentioned together68,474 recipes

Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
Olive + peppertop 11% of all pairs

Aroma overlapmoderate

Mentioned together30,263 recipes

Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).
Honey + olivetop 14% of all pairs

Aroma overlapmoderate

Mentioned together2,792 recipes

Shared aroma: ethyl isobutyrate (fruity, ethereal).
Honey + peppertop 17% of all pairs

Aroma overlapmoderate

Mentioned together1,990 recipes

Shared aroma: ethyl octanoate (fruity, wine).

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 (honey, olive, flour, pepper, ham):

Capsicumbetter flavor fit
Mustardbetter flavor fit
Tomatobetter flavor fit
Onionthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against honey, olive, flour, pepper, ham. 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).

Southern-Style Focaccia