Why it works: Berry and parsley share more aroma than cooks usually use. They rank in the top 10% of all ingredient pairs, and 16 recipes mention both. Both carry myristicin, which smells spice, warm. The science ↓
The recipe
Serves 4Ingredients
Directions
Method written by CompKitchen from the ingredient list. Not the original author's method, not kitchen-tested.
Pat the pork ribs dry and season all sides with the salt and pepper. Cut the rack into sections if needed so they fit in the slow cooker.
In a bowl, whisk together the whole berry cranberry sauce, applesauce, orange juice, chicken broth and minced garlic until smooth.
Arrange the seasoned ribs in the slow cooker, then pour the cranberry mixture evenly over them, turning the ribs so they are coated.
Cover and cook on low for 6 hours (360 minutes), turning the ribs and spooning the sauce over them once halfway through, until the meat is tender.
Check that the thickest part of the ribs reads at least 145°F (63°C) on a meat thermometer. Transfer the ribs to a platter and let them rest for 3 minutes.
Spoon the sauce from the slow cooker over the ribs. Sprinkle with the chopped fresh parsley for garnish, if using (optional), and serve.
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.
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Berry + parsleytop 10% of all pairsAroma overlapstrongMentioned together16 recipes
Shared aroma: myristicin (spice, warm).
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Pork + chickentop 1% of all pairsAroma overlapstrongMentioned together5,375 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-furfurylthiol (coffee, roasted).
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Cranberry + orangetop 2% of all pairsAroma overlapstrongMentioned together230 recipes
Shared aroma: ethyl 2-methylbutyrate (fruity, apple).
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Pepper + parsleytop 2% of all pairsAroma overlapstrongMentioned together34,118 recipes
Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).
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Berry + cranberrytop 2% of all pairsAroma overlapstrongMentioned together68 recipes
Shared aroma: ethyl 2-methylbutyrate (fruity, apple).
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, berry, cranberry, sauce, orange, chicken, pepper):
- Gingerbetter flavor fit
- Thymebetter flavor fit
- Rosemarybetter flavor fit
- Garlicthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against pork, berry, cranberry, sauce, orange, chicken, pepper. 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).
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