Mini Fruit Tarts

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. Vanilla + appletop 8% of all pairs
   Smell alikemoderate
   Cooked together1,501 recipes

   Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).

2. Cream cheese + buttertop 8% of all pairs
   Smell alikemoderate
   Cooked together2,747 recipes

   Shared aroma: ethyl octanoate (fruity, wine).

3. Sugar + vanillatop 8% of all pairs
   Smell alikelow
   Cooked together35,032 recipes

   Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).

4. Rice + vanillatop 11% of all pairs
   Smell alikemoderate
   Cooked together1,352 recipes

   Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).

5. Cream cheese + vanillatop 13% of all pairs
   Smell alikemoderate
   Cooked together1,929 recipes

   Shared aroma: ethyl caproate (fruity, apple peel).

Sugar and vanilla barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 35,032 recipes: they work on texture and structure more than aroma.

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

What each ingredient does

Eggs

Thicken the pudding as they set with heat, giving it a custard-like body.

Cream cheese

Adds richness and a smooth, creamy texture to the pudding.

Cooked rice

Forms the bulk of the pudding and gives it a soft, starchy body.

Half and half

Provides liquid and fat that make the pudding creamy and mild.

Sugar

Adds sweetness that balances the dairy and the tart fruit.

The step that matters

Swap the apple

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (rice, cream cheese, sugar, butter, egg, vanilla):

1. Coconutfits better
2. Blueberryfits better
3. Peachfits better
4. Applethe original

Fit is the average pairing score against rice, cream cheese, sugar, butter, egg, vanilla. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.