Name: Beer Caramelized Onion Dip
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 1 h 15 min
Yield: 8
Ingredients: 3 Tablespoons Unsalted Butter; 1 Tablespoon Olive Oil; 2 Tablespoons Brown Sugar; 1 teaspoon Salt; 3 whole Medium Yellow Onions, Diced; ¼ cups IPA-style Beer; ½ cups Mayonnaise; ¼ cups Cream Cheese, Softened To Room Temperature; ¼ cups Sour Cream; 4 slices Thick-cut Bacon, Cooked Until Crisp And Chopped; 1 dash Salt And Pepper; 2 ounces, weight Swiss Cheese, Grated; 2 ounces, weight Sharp White Cheddar Cheese, Grated; 2 ounces, weight Gruyere Cheese, Grated

Why it works: Butter and cream are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 8% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 41,516 recipes. Both carry delta-dodecalactone, which smells sweet, creamy. 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.

Butter + creamtop 8% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together41,516 recipes

Shared aroma: delta-dodecalactone (sweet, creamy).
Butter + cream cheesetop 8% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together2,747 recipes

Shared aroma: ethyl octanoate (fruity, wine).
Olive + oniontop 8% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together29,779 recipes

Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).
Sugar + creamtop 9% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together43,450 recipes

Shared aroma: 2,3-butanedione (butter, sweet).
Onion + peppertop 11% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together68,474 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 onion

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (butter, olive, sugar, beer, cream cheese, cream, pepper):

Capsicumfits better
Potatofits better
Tomatofits better
Onionthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against butter, olive, sugar, beer, cream cheese, cream, pepper. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.

Ingredient	Portion assumed	kcal
Olive Oil	1 tbsp (14g)	119
Cheddar Cheese	1 oz (28g)	113
Gruyere Cheese	1 oz (28g) cheddar	113
Swiss Cheese	1 oz (28g)	108
Butter	1 tbsp (14g)	102
Yogurt	170g plain Greek	100
Cream Cheese	1 oz (28g)	99
Egg	1 large egg (50g)	78
Sugar	1 tbsp (12.5g) granulated	49
Onion	1 medium (110g)	44
Beer	1/4 cup (60ml) for cooking	43
Bacon	1 slice cooked (8g)	43
Black Pepper	1 tsp ground (2.3g)	6
Salt	1 tsp (6g)	0

Beer Caramelized Onion Dip