Name: Bacon Wrapped Roasted Vegetables with Maple Glaze
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 25 min
Yield: 8 servings
Ingredients: For the Roasted Vegetables:; 1 lb. carrots, trimmed and quartered lengthwise; 1 lb. parsnips, trimmed and peeled, then cut into long spears; 1 lb. asparagus, tough ends trimmed; 8 slices thick cut bacon; Salt and pepper; For the Maple Glaze:; 1/4 cup pure maple syrup; 1 Tb. apple cider vinegar; 1/4 tsp. ground cumin; 1/4 tsp. ground ginger; 1/4 tsp. salt

Why it works: Carrot and parsnip match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 1,097 recipes. Both carry 2-isobutyl-3-methoxypyrazine, which smells green bell pepper, earthy. 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 + parsniptop 1% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together1,097 recipes

Shared aroma: 2-isobutyl-3-methoxypyrazine (green bell pepper, earthy).
Carrot + cumintop 1% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together777 recipes

Shared aroma: methyl cinnamate (strawberry).
Cumin + gingertop 2% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together1,733 recipes

Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).
Parsnip + cumintop 3% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together53 recipes

Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).
Carrot + gingertop 3% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together1,377 recipes

Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).

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

Swap the asparagus

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (carrot, parsnip, pepper, maple syrup, apple cider vinegar, cumin, ginger):

Capsicumfits better
Beetrootfits better
Sweet potatofits better
Asparagusthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against carrot, parsnip, pepper, maple syrup, apple cider vinegar, cumin, ginger. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.

Ingredient	Portion assumed	kcal
Vegetable	1 tbsp (14g)	120
Parsnip	1/2 cup (78g)	55
Maple Syrup	1 tbsp (20ml)	52
Bacon	1 slice cooked (8g)	43
Asparagus	6 spears (90g)	27
Carrot	1 medium (61g)	25
Cumin	1 tsp ground (2.1g)	8
Black Pepper	1 tsp ground (2.3g)	6
Vinegar	1 tbsp (15ml) distilled	3
Ginger	1 tsp grated fresh (2g)	2
Salt	1 tsp (6g)	0

Bacon Wrapped Roasted Vegetables with Maple Glaze