Name: Brined Turkey Breast with Lemon-Parsley Gravy
Ingredients: 6 quarts water; 2 cups kosher salt; 1 1⁄2 cups firmly packed light brown sugar; 2 bone-in fresh whole turkey breasts, about; 11 lb. total; 9 Tbs. unsalted butter, at room temperature; 1 yellow onion, unpeeled, quartered; 2 large carrots, unpeeled, coarsely chopped; 1 3⁄4 cups chicken stock or low-sodium; canned chicken broth; 1⁄2 cup dry white wine; 1⁄4 cup peanut or canola oil; 1 Tbs. fresh lemon juice; 7 cups turkey stock; 1⁄4 cup cornstarch; 1⁄3 cup minced fresh flat-leaf parsley; 1 Tbs. fresh lemon juice; 1 Tbs. minced lemon zest; Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste

Why it works: Onion and carrot are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 6% of all ingredient pairs, and 21,601 recipes mention both. Both carry 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine, which smells earthy, pea. 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.

Onion + carrottop 6% of all pairs

Aroma overlapmoderate

Mentioned together21,601 recipes

Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
Turkey + chickentop 7% of all pairs

Aroma overlapmoderate

Mentioned together688 recipes

Shared aroma: (z)-4-decenal (green, must).
Chicken + peanuttop 8% of all pairs

Aroma overlapmoderate

Mentioned together541 recipes

Shared aroma: 2-ethyl-3,6-dimethylpyrazine (roasted, nutty).
Onion + chickentop 8% of all pairs

Aroma overlapmoderate

Mentioned together17,814 recipes

Shared aroma: gamma-nonanolactone (coconut, sweet).
Butter + white winetop 9% of all pairs

Aroma overlapmoderate

Mentioned together5,083 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 peanut

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (sugar, turkey, butter, onion, carrot, chicken, white wine):

Chestnutbetter flavor fit
Beansbetter flavor fit
Peasabout as good a flavor fit
Peanutthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against sugar, turkey, butter, onion, carrot, chicken, white wine. 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).

Brined Turkey Breast with Lemon-Parsley Gravy