Name: Cucumber Soup I
Ingredients: 1 medium-sized cucumber, peeled (save some as garnish); 2 spring onions; 1 clove garlic, crushed and finely chopped; 1 carton natural, low-fat plain yogurt (aprox 8 oz); 2 1/2 oz sour cream; 1 tbls fresh mint, chopped (save a few leaves as garnish); 1 tspn lemon juice; salt & freshly ground black pepper

Why it works: Onion and garlic match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 29,058 recipes. Both carry furaneol, which smells caramel, strawberry. The science ↓

Cucumber Soup I

Ingredients

1 medium-sized cucumber, peeled (save some as garnish)
2 spring onions
1 clove garlic, crushed and finely chopped
1 carton natural, low-fat plain yogurt (aprox 8 oz)
2 1/2 oz sour cream
1 tbls fresh mint, chopped (save a few leaves as garnish)
1 tspn lemon juice
salt & freshly ground black pepper

Directions

Prepare

Finely grate or chop the cucumber over a bowl to catch the liquid.
Finely chop the white bulbs of the spring onions and about 3 inches of the green stalks.

Make the soup

Mix all ingredients, including the cucumber juice.
Season to taste with salt and pepper.
Chill in the fridge until cool.

Serve

Ladle into individual dishes and garnish with thin cucumber slices and sprigs of fresh mint or chopped mint.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

182Calories

20 gProtein

1 gFat

26 gCarbs

Counts 7 of 8 ingredients. The other 1 aren't in our nutrition table and add nothing above, so the real totals are higher.

What these numbers assume: 7 portions

Ingredient	Portion assumed	kcal
Yogurt	170g plain Greek	100
Onion	1 medium (110g)	44
Cucumber	1/2 cup sliced (52g)	16
Lemon	juice of 1 lemon (48ml)	12
Black Pepper	1 tsp ground (2.3g)	6
Garlic	1 clove (3g)	4
Salt	1 tsp (6g)	0
Peppermint	not in our table	0

One typical portion per ingredient; the recipe's quantities are not counted. A rough guide only, not for medical or dietary planning.

Recipe from the Recipes Wiki (Fandom).

Steps grouped into stages for easier reading; the method is the source's own.

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.

Onion + garlictop 1% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together29,058 recipes

Shared aroma: furaneol (caramel, strawberry).
Mint + lemontop 4% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together1,998 recipes

Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).
Cucumber + garlictop 4% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together2,556 recipes

Shared aroma: linalool (floral, citrus).
Cucumber + minttop 5% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together884 recipes

Shared aroma: eucalyptol (eucalyptus, herbal).
Cucumber + oniontop 8% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together6,050 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

What each ingredient does

Cucumber: Supplies the main body and fresh flavour, and its juice adds moisture to the soup.
Natural low-fat plain yogurt: Forms the creamy base and gives the soup a tangy, slightly acidic taste.
Sour cream: Adds richness and fat, giving the soup a smoother, fuller texture.
Spring onions: Contribute a mild onion flavour and aroma.
Fresh mint: Adds a cool, aromatic herbal flavour that suits the cucumber.

Swap the clove

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (cucumber, onion, garlic, yogurt, cream, mint, lemon):

Corianderfits better
Dillfits better
Cuminfits better
Clovethe original

Fit is the average pairing score against cucumber, onion, garlic, yogurt, cream, mint, lemon. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.

“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.