Why it works: Garlic and arrowroot share more aroma than cooks usually use. They rank in the top 9% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 51 recipes. Both carry coumarin, which smells sweet, hay. The science ↓
Alfredo Sauce I
Ingredients
Directions
Combine all ingredients except the arrowroot starch, shredded mozzarella, and water in a saucepan and bring to a boil.
Blend the arrowroot starch with cold water, then add the mixture slowly to the sauce, stirring constantly.
Let the sauce simmer for 2 minutes.
Remove from heat.
Slowly add and blend in the shredded mozzarella.
Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)
Counts 5 of 7 ingredients. The other 2 aren't in our nutrition table and add nothing above, so the real totals are higher.
What these numbers assume: 5 portions
| Ingredient | Portion assumed | kcal |
|---|---|---|
| Milk | 1 cup (244ml) whole | 149 |
| Cheese | 1 oz (28g) cheddar | 113 |
| Mozzarella Cheese | 1 oz (28g) | 85 |
| Black Pepper | 1 tsp ground (2.3g) | 6 |
| Salt | 1 tsp (6g) | 0 |
| Arrowroot | not in our table | 0 |
| 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.
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.
-
Garlic + arrowroottop 9% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together51 recipes
Shared aroma: coumarin (sweet, hay).
-
Milk + cheesetop 10% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together4,426 recipes
Shared aroma: delta-dodecalactone (sweet, creamy).
-
Milk + arrowroottop 18% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together817 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-methylbutyraldehyde (malty, chocolate).
-
Garlic + cheesetop 18% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together2,738 recipes
Shared aroma: linalool (floral, citrus).
-
Arrowroot + white peppertop 25% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together44 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-methylbutyraldehyde (malty, chocolate).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Arrowroot starch
- Thickens the milk into a smooth sauce as it heats with stirring.
- Shredded mozzarella
- Adds cheese flavor and stretch, melting into the sauce off the heat.
- Non-fat milk
- Forms the liquid base of the sauce.
The step that matters
Adding the arrowroot slurry. Starch must be dispersed in cold water first and added slowly while stirring constantly. Added dry or in a lump, it clumps and leaves gritty spots that do not smooth out, and the sauce thickens unevenly.
Swap the white pepper
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (milk, garlic, arrowroot, cheese):
- Capersfits better
- Thymefits better
- Turmericfits better
- White pepperthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against milk, garlic, arrowroot, 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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