Name: Rice's Sweet Potato and Carrot Soup
Ingredients: 2 sweet potatoes peeled and chopped; 2 large carrots peeled and chopped; 1 large white onion chopped; 1/2 tsp ground cumin; 1/2 tsp ground coriander seed; 1 vegetable stock cube

Why it works: Cumin and coriander match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 3,866 recipes. Both carry beta-phellandrene, which smells minty, terpene. The science ↓

Rice's Sweet Potato and Carrot Soup

Time20 minutes

Ingredients

2 sweet potatoes peeled and chopped
2 large carrots peeled and chopped
1 large white onion chopped
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp ground coriander seed
1 vegetable stock cube

Directions

Make the soup

Place all ingredients in a large saucepan and pour over 1.25 litres boiling water.
Bring back to the boil and allow to simmer for 20 minutes or until the vegetables are tender.

Blend and serve

Allow to cool then blend in a food processor or blender.
Reheat and enjoy, adding chopped coriander leaves if desired.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

238Calories

6 gProtein

1 gFat

54 gCarbs

Counts 4 of 6 ingredients. The other 2 aren't in our nutrition table and add nothing above, so the real totals are higher.

What these numbers assume: 4 portions

Ingredient	Portion assumed	kcal
Potato	1 medium (173g) baked	161
Onion	1 medium (110g)	44
Carrot	1 medium (61g)	25
Cumin	1 tsp ground (2.1g)	8
Coriander	not in our table	0
Seed	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.

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.

Cumin + coriandertop 1% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together3,866 recipes

Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).
Carrot + cumintop 1% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together777 recipes

Shared aroma: methyl cinnamate (strawberry).
Sweet potato + cumintop 3% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together232 recipes

Shared aroma: linalool (floral, citrus).
Carrot + coriandertop 5% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together1,297 recipes

Shared aroma: 2-isobutyl-3-methoxypyrazine (green bell pepper, earthy).
Sweet potato + coriandertop 5% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together304 recipes

Shared aroma: decanal (soap, orange peel).

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

What each ingredient does

Sweet potatoes: Break down during simmering to give the soup body and a naturally sweet flavour.
Carrots: Add sweetness and body, thickening the soup as they soften and blend.
White onion: Builds savoury depth as it softens into the broth.
Ground cumin: Adds warm, earthy aroma that gives the soup its characteristic flavour.
Ground coriander seed: Contributes citrusy, aromatic notes that complement the cumin and vegetables.

Swap the onion

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (sweet potato, carrot, cumin, coriander):

Parsnipfits better
Capsicumfits better
Okrafits better
Onionthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against sweet potato, carrot, cumin, coriander. 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.