Name: Sweet-and-Sour Green Beans
Ingredients: 10 oz package frozen green beans; 1/2 cup water; 1 bay leaf; 4 whole cloves; 2 tbsp wine vinegar, red or white; 1 tbsp margarine; 1 pack equal sweetener

Why it works: Green beans and clove work together. They rank in the top 13% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 40 recipes. Both carry 2-heptanol, which smells bitter, floral. The science ↓

Sweet-and-Sour Green Beans

Timeabout 3 minutes

Ingredients

Directions

Cook the beans

Combine the beans, water, bay leaf and cloves in a saucepan.
Cook until the beans are tender, about 3 minutes.
Drain off the water.

Finish and serve

Add the vinegar and margarine.
Saute for 3 minutes.
Remove the bay leaf and cloves.
Sprinkle on the sweetener and serve.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

170Calories

1 gProtein

12 gFat

9 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
Butter	1 tbsp (14g)	102
Bell Pepper	1 medium (119g)	31
Wine	2 tbsp cooking wine (30ml)	25
Clove	1 tsp ground (2g)	7
Vinegar	1 tbsp (15ml) distilled	3
Bay Leaf	1 leaf (0.6g)	2
Water	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.

Green beans + clovetop 13% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together40 recipes

Shared aroma: 2-heptanol (bitter, floral).
Clove + winetop 15% of all pairs

Smell alikelow

Cooked together2,958 recipes

Shared aroma: cis-isoeugenol (clove, spicy).
Green beans + winetop 23% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together19 recipes

Shared aroma: 2-isobutyl-3-methoxypyrazine (green bell pepper, earthy).

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

What each ingredient does

Wine vinegar: Adds acidity that gives the beans their sour flavour.
Margarine: Adds fat that carries flavour and gives the beans a glossy finish.
Equal sweetener: Adds sweetness to balance the sharpness of the vinegar.