Canadian Cheese 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. Carrot + celerytop 1% of all pairs
   Smell alikestrong
   Cooked together10,173 recipes

   Shared aroma: myristicin (spice, warm).

2. Celery + peppertop 5% of all pairs
   Smell alikestrong
   Cooked together16,012 recipes

   Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).

3. Carrot + peppertop 6% of all pairs
   Smell alikestrong
   Cooked together14,555 recipes

   Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).

4. Carrot + oniontop 6% of all pairs
   Smell alikemoderate
   Cooked together21,601 recipes

   Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).

5. Butter + mushroomtop 7% of all pairs
   Smell alikemoderate
   Cooked together12,525 recipes

   Shared aroma: trans-2-decenal (waxy, orange).

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

Butter

Fat that softens the vegetables and carries flavor into the soup base.

Flour

Thickens the broth as it cooks, giving the soup body.

Cornstarch

Adds extra thickening power to the flour mixture for a smooth, stable body.

Sharp cheddar cheese

Provides the main cheese flavor and melts into the soup to make it creamy.

Milk

Adds creaminess and mild sweetness, softening the soup's texture.

Chicken broth

Forms the liquid base that the thickener and vegetables are cooked in.

The step that matters

Swap the onion

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (butter, carrot, celery, pepper, mushroom, ham, flour):

1. Turnipfits better
2. Leekfits better
3. Capsicumfits better
4. Onionthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against butter, carrot, celery, pepper, mushroom, ham, flour. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.