Why it works: Fennel and thyme match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and 337 recipes mention both. Both carry beta-phellandrene, which smells minty, terpene. The science ↓
The recipe
Adapted from Yotam Ottolenghi’sIngredients
- For the vinaigrette
Directions
Step-by-step directions aren't available for this recipe. See the full recipe at the source →
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.
-
Fennel + thymetop 1% of all pairsAroma overlapstrongMentioned together337 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).
-
Onion + garlictop 1% of all pairsAroma overlapstrongMentioned together29,030 recipes
Shared aroma: furaneol (caramel, strawberry).
-
Fennel + carrottop 3% of all pairsAroma overlapstrongMentioned together330 recipes
Shared aroma: myristicin (spice, warm).
-
Olive + garlictop 3% of all pairsAroma overlapmoderateMentioned together23,449 recipes
Shared aroma: linalool (floral, citrus).
-
Carrot + thymetop 3% of all pairsAroma overlapstrongMentioned together4,563 recipes
Shared aroma: cuminaldehyde (Spicy, cumin).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
Flavor stand-ins for the cherry tomato
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (fennel, carrot, onion, sweet potato, olive, garlic, thyme):
- Limebetter flavor fit
- Lemonbetter flavor fit
- Orangebetter flavor fit
- Cherry tomatothe original
Fit is the average pairing score against fennel, carrot, onion, sweet potato, olive, garlic, 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).
The Sunday pairing: one pairing, the chemistry behind it, and how to cook it. No spam, unsubscribe anytime.
Prefer an account? Create a free account for sign-in; Pro adds the full results and chemistry.