Why it works: Carrot and celery match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 10,173 recipes. Both carry myristicin, which smells spice, warm. The science ↓
Day After Thanksgiving Turkey Soup
Ingredients
Directions
Place turkey carcass in large kettle, cover with water.
Add celery stalks, carrots, quartered onion, peppercorns and boullion cubes.
Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer, covered, for 2-3 hours.
Cool, skim off fat.
Remove bones and skin.
Save any meat pieces to add to soup.
Strain stock and add water, if necessary, to make 2 quarts.
Bring to a boil.
Add remaining ingredients, bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer, covered, for 1 hour.
Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)
What these numbers assume: 12 portions
| Ingredient | Portion assumed | kcal |
|---|---|---|
| Beef | 100g cooked | 250 |
| Rice | 1 cup cooked (158g) white | 206 |
| Chicken | 100g cooked | 165 |
| Onion | 1 medium (110g) | 44 |
| Carrot | 1 medium (61g) | 25 |
| Wine | 2 tbsp cooking wine (30ml) | 25 |
| Tomato | 1 medium (123g) | 22 |
| Celery Stalks | 1 stalk (40g) | 6 |
| Celery | 1 stalk (40g) | 6 |
| Bay Leaf | 1 leaf (0.6g) | 2 |
| Basil | 5 leaves fresh (2.5g) | 1 |
| Parsley | 1 tbsp chopped fresh (3.8g) | 1 |
One typical portion per ingredient; the recipe's quantities are not counted. A rough guide only, not for medical or dietary planning.
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.
-
Carrot + celerytop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together10,173 recipes
Shared aroma: myristicin (spice, warm).
-
Celery + tomatotop 4% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together3,377 recipes
Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).
-
Carrot + tomatotop 6% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together3,606 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
-
Carrot + oniontop 6% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together21,601 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
-
Tomato + ricetop 6% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together3,065 recipes
Shared aroma: trans-2-nonenal (cardboard, fatty).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
Swap the onion
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (turkey, carrot, celery, beef, tomato, rice, sherry):
- Capsicumfits better
- Potatofits better
- Turnipfits about as well
- Onionthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against turkey, carrot, celery, beef, tomato, rice, sherry. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.
You might also like
The free Flavor Lab newsletter: one surprising pairing a week and the molecular reason it works, in 60 seconds. No spam, unsubscribe anytime.
Prefer an account? Create a free account to save pairings and unlock the full chemistry.
Cream of Celery37 recipes
Tomato Bisque11 recipes
Indian Spiced Potato Soup with Tofu and Spinach448 recipes
Clear Carrot and Bottle Gourd Soup65 recipes