Tortilla Soup

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.

1. Onion + garlictop 1% of all pairs
   Smell alikestrong
   Cooked together29,058 recipes

   Shared aroma: furaneol (caramel, strawberry).

2. Garlic + tomatotop 3% of all pairs
   Smell alikemoderate
   Cooked together14,076 recipes

   Shared aroma: furaneol (caramel, strawberry).

3. Pepper + clovetop 5% of all pairs
   Smell alikestrong
   Cooked together17,451 recipes

   Shared aroma: ethyl octanoate (fruity, wine).

4. Jalapeno + garlictop 5% of all pairs
   Smell alikemoderate
   Cooked together1,700 recipes

   Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).

5. Onion + beeftop 7% of all pairs
   Smell alikemoderate
   Cooked together17,092 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

Stew meat

Provides savory, meaty body to the soup as it simmers.

Tortillas

Soften as they cook, thickening the soup and adding body.

Tomatoes

Add acidity and sweetness that balance the spices and build the broth.

Cheddar cheese

Melts over the hot soup, adding richness and fat to each sip.

The step that matters

Swap the jalapeno

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (onion, pepper, clove, garlic, meat, tomato, beef):

1. Thymefits better
2. Cuminfits better
3. Oreganofits better
4. Jalapenothe original

Fit is the average pairing score against onion, pepper, clove, garlic, meat, tomato, beef. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.