Why it works: Shrimp and potato match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 4% of all ingredient pairs, and 407 recipes mention both. Both carry (z)-4-heptenal, which smells biscuit, cream. The science ↓
The recipe
Serves 4Ingredients
Contains: shellfish (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 oven to 425°F (220°C). Toss the diced potatoes with 1 tablespoon of the olive oil on a baking sheet and spread them in a single layer.
Roast the potatoes for about 15 minutes, turning once, until tender and golden at the edges.
Meanwhile, pat the shrimp dry. Heat the remaining 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a skillet over medium-high heat.
Add the minced garlic and sliced jalapeño to the skillet and cook for about 1 minute, until fragrant.
Add the shrimp in a single layer and cook 2 to 3 minutes per side, until pink and opaque and they reach 145°F (63°C) in the thickest part.
Remove the skillet from the heat and stir in the lemon zest and lemon juice.
Spoon the lemon shrimp over the hot roasted potatoes and serve right away.
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.
-
Shrimp + potatotop 4% of all pairsAroma overlapstrongMentioned together407 recipes
Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).
-
Olive + garlictop 3% of all pairsAroma overlapmoderateMentioned together23,449 recipes
Shared aroma: linalool (floral, citrus).
-
Garlic + potatotop 3% of all pairsAroma overlapstrongMentioned together4,512 recipes
Shared aroma: furaneol (caramel, strawberry).
-
Garlic + jalapenotop 3% of all pairsAroma overlaplowMentioned together1,700 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
-
Olive + potatotop 4% of all pairsAroma overlapstrongMentioned together5,688 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-undecenal (sweet).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
Flavor stand-ins for the jalapeno
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (shrimp, olive, garlic, lemon, potato):
- Corianderbetter flavor fit
- Rosemarybetter flavor fit
- Parsleybetter flavor fit
- Jalapenothe original
Fit is the average pairing score against shrimp, olive, garlic, lemon, potato. 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).
The Sunday pairing: one pairing, the chemistry behind it, and how to cook it. No spam, unsubscribe anytime.
Prefer an account? Create a free account for sign-in; Pro adds the full results and chemistry.