Name: Creamed Collard Greens
Yield: Makes 8 to 10 servings
Ingredients: 2 large bunches collard greens (about 1 1/2 pounds), center stems removed and leaves cut into 1/2" strips; Kosher salt; 2 teaspoons vegetable oil; 1 cup 1/3" pieces (about 6 ounces) thick-cut smoked bacon; Unsalted butter (if needed); 2 large shallots, finely chopped; 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour; 1 1/2 teaspoons sweet paprika; 2 cups whole milk; 2 cups heavy cream; Freshly ground black pepper

Why it works: Butter and milk match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 3% of all ingredient pairs, and 81,222 recipes mention both. Both carry (z)-4-heptenal, which smells biscuit, cream. 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.

Butter + milktop 3% of all pairs

Aroma overlapstrong

Mentioned together81,222 recipes

Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).
Butter + creamtop 3% of all pairs

Aroma overlapstrong

Mentioned together41,494 recipes

Shared aroma: delta-dodecalactone (sweet, creamy).
Shallot + flourtop 5% of all pairs

Aroma overlapstrong

Mentioned together2,031 recipes

Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
Butter + flourtop 6% of all pairs

Aroma overlaplow

Mentioned together122,858 recipes

Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
Flour + milktop 8% of all pairs

Aroma overlaplow

Mentioned together76,993 recipes

Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).

Butter and flour share little aroma chemistry, yet 122,858 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 shallot

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (butter, flour, milk, cream, pepper):

Potatobetter flavor fit
Capsicumbetter flavor fit
Asparagusbetter flavor fit
Shallotthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against butter, flour, milk, cream, pepper. 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).

Creamed Collard Greens