Why it works: Mozzarella cheese and meat share more aroma than cooks usually use. They rank in the top 8% of all ingredient pairs, and 91 recipes mention both. Both carry 1-octen-3-ol, which smells mushroom, earthy. The science ↓
The recipe
Serves 6Ingredients
Contains: egg, milk (auto-detected from the ingredients and method; we can miss things, so check labels)
Directions
Method written by CompKitchen from the ingredient list. Not the original author's method, not kitchen-tested.
Preheat the oven to 400°F (204°C). Brown the ground pork sausage and ground chuck in a large skillet over medium heat, breaking them up, until no pink remains and they reach 160°F (71°C) inside.
Drain off excess fat, then stir in the basil, ground oregano and black pepper. Let the meat cool for 5 minutes.
Roll the pizza dough into a rectangle on a baking sheet. Brush the dough with the olive oil.
Spread the pizza sauce over the dough, leaving a 1-inch border. Layer half the mozzarella, half the provolone and half the Parmesan over the sauce.
Spread the cooked meat evenly over the cheese, then top with the pepperoni slices and the remaining mozzarella and provolone.
Roll the dough up tightly from a long side, tuck the ends under, and place it seam side down on the sheet. Brush the top with the beaten egg.
Sprinkle the remaining Parmesan over the top. Bake for 25 minutes, until deep golden brown and the cheese is melted and bubbling.
Let the stromboli rest for 10 minutes, then slice and serve warm.
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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Mozzarella cheese + meattop 8% of all pairsAroma overlapstrongMentioned together91 recipes
Shared aroma: 1-octen-3-ol (mushroom, earthy).
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Mozzarella cheese + provolone cheesetop 1% of all pairsAroma overlapstrongMentioned together91 recipes
Shared aroma: ethyl 2-methylbutyrate (fruity, apple).
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Mozzarella cheese + parmesan cheesetop 1% of all pairsAroma overlapstrongMentioned together1,092 recipes
Shared aroma: ethyl 2-methylbutyrate (fruity, apple).
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Provolone cheese + parmesan cheesetop 1% of all pairsAroma overlapstrongMentioned together89 recipes
Shared aroma: ethyl 2-methylbutyrate (fruity, apple).
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Basil + oreganotop 1% of all pairsAroma overlapstrongMentioned together1,390 recipes
Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
The Sunday pairing: one pairing, the chemistry behind it, and how to cook it. No spam, unsubscribe anytime.
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