Name: Butternut Squash-Carrot Soup with Pork “Croutons”
Ingredients: 1 large butternut squash, about 3 lb., peeled, seeded and cut into 1-inch cubes; 3 large carrots, peeled and cut into 1-inch pieces; 2 Tbs. plus 1 tsp. olive oil; Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste; 10-oz. slab pork belly, cut into batons about 1/2 by 1/2 by 1 inch; 2 Tbs. unsalted butter; 1 large yellow onion, thinly sliced; 1 large Granny Smith apple, peeled, cored and thinly sliced; 2 garlic cloves, minced; 4 Tbs. chicken stock concentrate mixed with 6 cups water; 2 fresh thyme sprigs; 1 bay leaf; 1 cup heavy cream; 2 Tbs. chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

Why it works: Carrot and pepper match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 6% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 14,555 recipes. 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 their aromas overlap, and how often cooks already put them together.

Carrot + peppertop 6% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together14,555 recipes

Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
Carrot + oniontop 6% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together21,601 recipes

Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
Butternut squash + carrottop 6% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together177 recipes

Shared aroma: coumarin (sweet, hay).
Butternut squash + olivetop 7% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together689 recipes

Shared aroma: coumarin (sweet, hay).
Butternut squash + oniontop 8% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together692 recipes

Shared aroma: coumarin (sweet, hay).

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

Swap the apple

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (butternut squash, carrot, olive, pepper, pork, butter, onion):

Avocadofits better
Limefits better
Coconutfits better
Applethe original

Fit is the average pairing score against butternut squash, carrot, olive, pepper, pork, butter, onion. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.

Ingredient	Portion assumed	kcal
Pork	100g cooked	242
Chicken	100g cooked	165
Olive Oil	1 tbsp (14g)	119
Butter	1 tbsp (14g)	102
Apple	1 medium (182g)	95
Cream	1 tbsp (15ml) heavy	51
Onion	1 medium (110g)	44
Carrot	1 medium (61g)	25
Black Pepper	1 tsp ground (2.3g)	6
Garlic	1 clove (3g)	4
Thyme	1 tsp dried (1.4g)	4
Bay Leaf	1 leaf (0.6g)	2
Parsley	1 tbsp chopped fresh (3.8g)	1
Salt	1 tsp (6g)	0
Pumpkin	not in our table	0
Water	not in our table	0

Butternut Squash-Carrot Soup with Pork “Croutons”