Name: Broccoli with Sauce
Ingredients: broccoli; 2 cups chopped onions; 4 tablespoons flour; 1 teaspoon salt; 2 cups milk; 1/4 lb mild cheddar cheese

Why it works: Broccoli and onion match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 6% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 3,294 recipes. Both carry coumarin, which smells sweet, hay. The science ↓

Broccoli with Sauce

Oven375°F

Time45 minutes

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare

Cook broccoli until tender.
Drain broccoli, put half into a buttered casserole dish, add onion.

Make the cheese sauce

Make cheese sauce by cooking flour, salt, and milk, then add cheese until melted.

Assemble and bake

Pour sauce over half of the broccoli, then add the remaining broccoli and the rest of the cheese.
Bake at 375°F for 45 minutes.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

816Calories

33 gProtein

19 gFat

128 gCarbs

What these numbers assume: 6 portions

Ingredient	Portion assumed	kcal
Flour	1 cup (125g) all-purpose	455
Milk	1 cup (244ml) whole	149
Cheddar Cheese	1 oz (28g)	113
Broccoli	1 cup chopped (156g)	55
Onion	1 medium (110g)	44
Salt	1 tsp (6g)	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.

Broccoli + oniontop 6% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together3,294 recipes

Shared aroma: coumarin (sweet, hay).
Milk + cheddar cheesetop 11% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together1,964 recipes

Shared aroma: delta-dodecalactone (sweet, creamy).
Broccoli + flourtop 11% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together1,287 recipes

Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
Broccoli + cheddar cheesetop 11% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together447 recipes

Shared aroma: hexyl acetate (fruity, apple).
Onion + cheddar cheesetop 13% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together3,669 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

Flour: Thickens the milk into a smooth sauce that holds the cheese and coats the broccoli.
Milk: Forms the liquid base of the cheese sauce, giving it body and moisture.
Mild cheddar cheese: Melts into the sauce to add rich flavour and a creamy, binding texture.
Broccoli: Forms the vegetable base of the casserole, adding texture and mild flavour.
Onions: Adds sweetness and savoury aroma as the casserole bakes.

The step that matters

Make the cheese sauce. Cooking the flour with the milk until thickened, then adding cheese off the heat or on low heat, keeps the sauce smooth. Too much heat can make the cheese grainy or oily.

Swap the onion

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (broccoli, flour, milk, cheddar cheese):

Potatofits better
Chivefits better
Mustardfits better
Onionthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against broccoli, flour, milk, cheddar cheese. 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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Broccoli with Sauce