French Onion Soup I

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. Pepper + parsleytop 2% of all pairs
   Smell alikestrong
   Cooked together34,122 recipes

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

3. Garlic + parsleytop 4% of all pairs
   Smell alikestrong
   Cooked together9,308 recipes

   Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).

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

   Shared aroma: ethyl octanoate (fruity, wine).

5. Clove + parsleytop 6% of all pairs
   Smell alikestrong
   Cooked together6,768 recipes

   Shared aroma: cuminaldehyde (Spicy, cumin).

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

What each ingredient does

Onions

Slowly cooked until limp, they form the sweet, deep base of the soup.

Flour

Stirred into the cooked onions and butter, it thickens the soup body.

Beef stock

Forms the main savory liquid that carries the soup's flavor.

White wine

Adds acidity and aroma that brighten the rich broth.

Mozzarella cheese

Melts over the soup under the broiler, forming a browned, stretchy topping.

Parmesan cheese

Sprinkled on the bread, it adds salty flavor and helps the topping brown.

The step that matters

Swap the clove

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (onion, butter, flour, pepper, garlic, sugar, parsley):

1. Thymefits better
2. Capersfits better
3. Marjoramfits better
4. Clovethe original

Fit is the average pairing score against onion, butter, flour, pepper, garlic, sugar, parsley. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.