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 ↓
Bulgarian Vegetable Soup
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare the vegetables
Put the diced celery and carrots into salt boiling water together with the finely cut cabbage and peppers.
When soft, add the diced potatoes.
Boil the diced beetroot.
Make the base
Stew the finely chopped onion until soft, then add the flour, paprika and grated tomatoes.
Add the mixture to the boiling vegetables and boil for another half hour.
Add the beetroot at the end.
Thicken and serve
Thicken with an egg beaten in yoghurt.
Serve with finely chopped parsley and grated kashkaval.
Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)
Counts 12 of 14 ingredients. The other 2 aren't in our nutrition table and add nothing above, so the real totals are higher.
What these numbers assume: 12 portions
| Ingredient | Portion assumed | kcal |
|---|---|---|
| Flour | 1 cup (125g) all-purpose | 455 |
| Potato | 1 medium (173g) baked | 161 |
| Cheese | 1 oz (28g) cheddar | 113 |
| Egg | 1 large egg (50g) | 78 |
| Broccoli | 1 cup chopped (156g) | 55 |
| Onion | 1 medium (110g) | 44 |
| Carrot | 1 medium (61g) | 25 |
| Tomato | 1 medium (123g) | 22 |
| Celery | 1 stalk (40g) | 6 |
| Pepper | 1 tsp ground (2.3g) | 6 |
| Parsley | 1 tbsp chopped fresh (3.8g) | 1 |
| Salt | 1 tsp (6g) | 0 |
| Beetroot | not in our table | 0 |
| Sunflower Oil | 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.
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.
-
Carrot + celerytop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together10,173 recipes
Shared aroma: myristicin (spice, warm).
-
Potato + oniontop 3% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together9,023 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
-
Carrot + beetroottop 4% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together699 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isobutyl-3-methoxypyrazine (green bell pepper, earthy).
-
Cabbage + beetroottop 4% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together377 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
-
Celery + tomatotop 4% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together3,377 recipes
Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Egg
- Beaten into yoghurt, it thickens the soup as it is stirred in.
- Flour
- Stewed with the onion, it helps thicken the base of the soup.
- Yoghurt
- Mixed with the beaten egg, it adds creaminess and a slight tang to the soup.
- Tomatoes
- Grated and stewed, they add acidity and body to the base.
- Potatoes
- Diced and cooked until tender, they add starch that gives the soup body.
The step that matters
Thicken with the egg and yoghurt. If the egg is added straight to hot soup it can scramble. Beating it into the yoghurt first and stirring it in gradually helps keep the soup smooth.
Swap the tomato
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (potato, carrot, celery, pepper, cabbage, onion, beetroot):
- Turnipfits better
- Parsnipfits better
- Lettucefits better
- Tomatothe original
Fit is the average pairing score against potato, carrot, celery, pepper, cabbage, onion, beetroot. 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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