Why it works: Thyme and peach share more aroma than cooks usually use. They rank in the top 10% of all ingredient pairs, and 40 recipes mention both. Both carry eucalyptol, which smells eucalyptus, herbal. The science ↓
The recipe
Serves 4Ingredients
Contains: 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.
Heat the canola oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the pork chops and sear for 4 to 5 minutes per side until browned, then move them to a plate.
Lower the heat to medium. Add the sliced shallots and chopped thyme to the skillet and cook, stirring, for 3 minutes until softened.
Pour in the brandy and let it bubble for 1 minute, scraping up the browned bits from the bottom of the pan. Stir in the peach preserves and frozen peaches and simmer for 5 minutes until the peaches soften.
Return the pork chops and any juices to the skillet and spoon the sauce over them. Cover and simmer over medium-low heat for 8 to 10 minutes, until a thermometer inserted in the thickest part reads at least 145°F (63°C).
Transfer the chops to a plate and rest them for 3 minutes. Meanwhile, remove the skillet from the heat, stir the butter into the sauce until melted, then spoon the sauce over the chops 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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Thyme + peachtop 10% of all pairsAroma overlapstrongMentioned together40 recipes
Shared aroma: eucalyptol (eucalyptus, herbal).
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Shallot + thymetop 3% of all pairsAroma overlapmoderateMentioned together1,467 recipes
Shared aroma: eucalyptol (eucalyptus, herbal).
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Brandy + peachtop 5% of all pairsAroma overlapmoderateMentioned together339 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).
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Pork + canola oiltop 5% of all pairsAroma overlapstrongMentioned together265 recipes
Shared aroma: trans,trans-2,4-nonadienal (fatty, green).
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Pork + buttertop 6% of all pairsAroma overlapstrongMentioned together13,848 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-furfurylthiol (coffee, roasted).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
Flavor stand-ins for the shallot
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (pork, canola oil, thyme, butter, brandy, peach):
- Potatobetter flavor fit
- Tomatobetter flavor fit
- Capsicumabout as good a flavor fit
- Shallotthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against pork, canola oil, thyme, butter, brandy, peach. 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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