Name: Low-fat Fettucine Alfredo
Ingredients: 2 tblsp butter: melt in saucepan; 4 tsp flour: stir into melted butter until smooth; 1-1/2 cup skim milk: stir in and cook down a bit until thickened; 1/4 cup parmesan cheese: stir in until smooth; some fresh pepper & nutmeg; noodles: fold in

Why it works: Butter and milk are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 7% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 81,283 recipes. Both carry (z)-4-heptenal, which smells biscuit, cream. The science ↓

Low-fat Fettucine Alfredo

Ingredients

2 tblsp butter: melt in saucepan
4 tsp flour: stir into melted butter until smooth
1-1/2 cup skim milk: stir in and cook down a bit until thickened
1/4 cup parmesan cheese: stir in until smooth
some fresh pepper & nutmeg
noodles: fold in

Directions

The above is great if you stir in some crabmeat (real or fake) and cook
for a couple minutes before adding the noodles. I also like to add a
healthy dose of garlic.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

834Calories

31 gProtein

29 gFat

110 gCarbs

What these numbers assume: 6 portions

Ingredient	Portion assumed	kcal
Flour	1 cup (125g) all-purpose	455
Milk	1 cup (244ml) whole	149
Parmesan Cheese	1 oz (28g)	110
Butter	1 tbsp (14g)	102
Nutmeg	1 tsp ground (2.2g)	12
Pepper	1 tsp ground (2.3g)	6

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).

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.

Butter + milktop 7% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together81,283 recipes

Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).
Pepper + nutmegtop 7% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together13,015 recipes

Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).
Flour + nutmegtop 8% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together18,623 recipes

Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
Butter + parmesan cheesetop 9% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together4,163 recipes

Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).
Butter + flourtop 12% of all pairs

Smell alikelow

Cooked together124,287 recipes

Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).

Butter and flour barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 124,287 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

Swap the nutmeg

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (butter, flour, milk, parmesan cheese, pepper):

Nutmegthe original
Parsleyfits about as well
Cinnamonfits about as well
Thymefits less well

Fit is the average pairing score against butter, flour, milk, parmesan cheese, pepper. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.