Name: Roast Skin-On Pork Loin
Ingredients: 1 bone-in skin-on pork loin, about 7 lb.; Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste; 1 Tbs. vegetable oil; 1 tsp. minced garlic; 1 tsp. all-purpose flour; 1/4 cup dry white wine; 1 Tbs. veal demi-glace; 3/4 cup chicken broth; 1 tsp. finely chopped fresh thyme; 2 Tbs. finely chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley; Maple-glazed root vegetables for serving (see related recipe at left)

Why it works: Pork and chicken match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 2% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 5,417 recipes. Both carry 2-furfurylthiol, which smells coffee, roasted. 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.

Pork + chickentop 2% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together5,417 recipes

Shared aroma: 2-furfurylthiol (coffee, roasted).
Pepper + thymetop 4% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together11,585 recipes

Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).
Garlic + thymetop 4% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together5,608 recipes

Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).
Garlic + chickentop 7% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together10,850 recipes

Shared aroma: 3-ethyl-2,5-dimethylpyrazine (roasted, nutty).
Pepper + garlictop 8% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together27,090 recipes

Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).

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

Flavor stand-ins for the garlic

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (pork, pepper, flour, white wine, veal, chicken, thyme):

Marjorambetter flavor fit
Sagebetter flavor fit
Parsleyabout as good a flavor fit
Garlicthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against pork, pepper, flour, white wine, veal, chicken, thyme. 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).

Roast Skin-On Pork Loin