Name: Pork Conserva with Green Tomato Agrodolce
Yield: Makes 24 crostini
Ingredients: 10 ounces 1-inch cubes pork shoulder (Boston butt); 2 ounces finely chopped salt pork (fatty parts only; about 1/4 cup); 2 garlic cloves, chopped; 1/2 cup dry white wine; 2 teaspoons vegetable oil plus additional (for brushing); 1/2 cup chopped red onion; 3 tablespoons sugar; 2 cups chopped green tomatoes; 1/4 cup distilled white vinegar; 1/4 teaspoon dry mustard; 24 flatbread crackers; Chopped fresh basil

Why it works: Garlic and onion match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and 29,058 recipes mention both. Both carry furaneol, which smells caramel, strawberry. 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.

Garlic + oniontop 1% of all pairs

Aroma overlapstrong

Mentioned together29,058 recipes

Shared aroma: furaneol (caramel, strawberry).
Garlic + tomatotop 3% of all pairs

Aroma overlapmoderate

Mentioned together14,076 recipes

Shared aroma: furaneol (caramel, strawberry).
Onion + tomatotop 8% of all pairs

Aroma overlapmoderate

Mentioned together20,633 recipes

Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
Garlic + clovetop 10% of all pairs

Aroma overlapmoderate

Mentioned together11,368 recipes

Shared aroma: linalool (floral, citrus).
Pork + oniontop 10% of all pairs

Aroma overlapmoderate

Mentioned together18,214 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

Flavor stand-ins for the clove

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (pork, garlic, white wine, onion, sugar, tomato, vinegar):

Thymebetter flavor fit
Cuminbetter flavor fit
Corianderbetter flavor fit
Clovethe original

Fit is the average pairing score against pork, garlic, white wine, onion, sugar, tomato, vinegar. 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).

Pork Conserva with Green Tomato Agrodolce