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Tuna Real

A baked casserole of cooked rice, flaked tuna, celery, onion, bell pepper, pimientos, cream of celery soup, cheese, milk, and spices.

From the Recipes Wiki (Fandom) · 11 ingredients
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Why it works: Celery and pepper match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 5% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 16,012 recipes. Both carry 4'-methylacetophenone, which smells bitter almond. The science ↓

Tuna Real

Oven425°F
Time20 minutes

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare the filling

  1. Combine rice, tuna, celery, onion, green pepper, and pimientos in a large bowl.

  2. Blend soup, cheese, pepper, and milk in a medium saucepan and heat the mixture.

  3. Stir the heated mixture into the tuna-rice mixture.

Bake and serve

  1. Transfer the mixture into a greased shallow 2-quart baking dish.

  2. Sprinkle with paprika.

  3. Bake at 425°F for 20 minutes or until hot and bubbly.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

814Calories
42 gProtein
37 gFat
76 gCarbs

Counts 9 of 10 ingredients. The other 1 aren't in our nutrition table and add nothing above, so the real totals are higher.

What these numbers assume: 9 portions
IngredientPortion assumedkcal
Salmon100g cooked208
Rice1 cup cooked (158g) white206
Milk1 cup (244ml) whole149
Cheddar Cheese1 oz (28g)113
Cream1 tbsp (15ml) heavy51
Onion1 medium (110g)44
Green Bell Pepper1 medium (119g)31
Celery1 stalk (40g)6
Black Pepper1 tsp ground (2.3g)6
Soupnot in our table0

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.

  1. Celery + peppertop 5% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together16,012 recipes

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

  2. Celery + oniontop 7% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together18,518 recipes

    Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).

  3. Rice + milktop 7% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together7,374 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).

  4. Rice + celerytop 7% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together2,169 recipes

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

  5. Rice + oniontop 9% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together10,433 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

Cooked rice
Provides bulk and body, soaking up the sauce so the casserole holds together.
Tuna
Supplies the main protein and savory flavor of the casserole.
Condensed cream of celery soup
Forms a creamy binding sauce that moistens the rice and tuna.
Cheddar cheese
Melts into the sauce for richness and helps it turn golden on top.
Milk
Thins the soup and cheese mixture into a smooth, pourable sauce.

Swap the onion

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (rice, celery, pepper, cream, cheddar cheese, milk):

  1. Potatofits better
  2. Capsicumfits better
  3. Carrotfits better
  4. Onionthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against rice, celery, pepper, cream, cheddar cheese, milk. 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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