Name: Aubergine Spread
Ingredients: 1 med Aubergine; 3 tbl Minced onion; 2 tbl Salad or olive oil; 4 tbl Lemon juice; 1 1/2 tsp Salt; 1/4 tsp Pepper; 1 tsp Sugar

Why it works: Lemon and pepper match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 3% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 27,047 recipes. Both carry trans-2-nonenal, which smells cardboard, fatty. The science ↓

Aubergine Spread

Oven475°F

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare the aubergine

Bake the aubergine in a 475°F oven until the skin turns dark brown.
Cool and peel.

Make and chill the spread

Chop the aubergine until very smooth.
Stir in the onion, oil, lemon juice, salt, pepper, and sugar.
Chill.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

230Calories

2 gProtein

14 gFat

28 gCarbs

Counts 6 of 7 ingredients. The other 1 aren't in our nutrition table and add nothing above, so the real totals are higher.

What these numbers assume: 6 portions

Ingredient	Portion assumed	kcal
Olive Oil	1 tbsp (14g)	119
Sugar	1 tbsp (12.5g) granulated	49
Onion	1 medium (110g)	44
Lemon	juice of 1 lemon (48ml)	12
Black Pepper	1 tsp ground (2.3g)	6
Salt	1 tsp (6g)	0
Salad	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.

Lemon + peppertop 3% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together27,047 recipes

Shared aroma: trans-2-nonenal (cardboard, fatty).
Olive + lemontop 7% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together11,922 recipes

Shared aroma: 3-hexenal (apple, fruity).
Onion + olivetop 8% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together29,779 recipes

Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).
Onion + peppertop 11% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together68,474 recipes

Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
Olive + peppertop 11% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together30,263 recipes

Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).

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

What each ingredient does

Aubergine: Forms the bulk of the spread and becomes soft and creamy once baked and mashed.
Salad or olive oil: Adds richness and a smooth, silky mouthfeel to the spread.
Lemon juice: Adds acidity that brightens the flavour and balances the richness.
Minced onion: Adds sharp aromatic flavour that cuts through the mild eggplant.
Sugar: Adds a touch of sweetness that rounds out the acidity of the lemon.

The step that matters

Bake the aubergine until the skin turns dark brown. Baking until the skin darkens cooks the flesh through, softening its cell structure so it can be mashed smooth. It also develops deeper, caramelised flavour. Underdone flesh stays fibrous and gives a coarse spread.

Swap the onion

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (olive, lemon, pepper, sugar):

Capsicumfits better
Spinachfits better
Tomatofits better
Onionthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against olive, lemon, pepper, sugar. 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.

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Aubergine Spread