Why it works: Carrot and parsley match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 8,053 recipes. Both carry 2,4-decadienal, which smells seaweed. The science ↓
Sour Soup with Meat Balls
Ingredients
Directions
Make the broth
Set to boil finely chopped onion, carrot, and parsley root together with the beef bones.
Let boil well, and then add the separately boiled borsh, salt, chopped greens and the separately boiled and strained tomatoes.
Add the meatballs and serve
Let boil for a few minutes and then add the meat balls prepared by mixing the ground meat with the salt, pepper, egg, fried onion and rice. Let the meat balls boil.
You may serve with a tablespoon of sour cream in each bowl.
Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)
Counts 11 of 13 ingredients. The other 2 aren't in our nutrition table and add nothing above, so the real totals are higher.
What these numbers assume: 11 portions
| Ingredient | Portion assumed | kcal |
|---|---|---|
| Beef | 100g cooked | 250 |
| Rice | 1 cup cooked (158g) white | 206 |
| Olive Oil | 1 tbsp (14g) | 119 |
| Egg | 1 large egg (50g) | 78 |
| Onion | 1 medium (110g) | 44 |
| Carrot | 1 medium (61g) | 25 |
| Tomato | 1 medium (123g) | 22 |
| Black Pepper | 1 tsp ground (2.3g) | 6 |
| Dill | 5 sprigs fresh (1g) / 1 tsp dried | 4 |
| Parsley | 1 tbsp chopped fresh (3.8g) | 1 |
| Salt | 1 tsp (6g) | 0 |
| Water | not in our table | 0 |
| Meatball | 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 + parsleytop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together8,053 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).
-
Parsley + dilltop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together669 recipes
Shared aroma: p-mentha-1,3,8-triene (camphor, herbal).
-
Carrot + dilltop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together321 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
-
Tomato + carrottop 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).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Tomatoes
- Add sourness and body to the broth as they cook down.
- Rice
- Binds the meatball mixture and keeps the meatballs tender as they simmer.
- Egg
- Binds the ground meat so the meatballs hold their shape in the broth.
- Beef
- Provides the meat flavour for the meatballs and, with the bones, the broth.
The step that matters
Let the meat balls boil. Meatballs must simmer long enough to cook through; the bound mixture needs gentle, steady heat so it sets without falling apart in the broth.
Swap the onion
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (tomato, carrot, parsley, dill, beef, rice, egg):
- Potatofits better
- Capsicumfits better
- Cucumberfits better
- Onionthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against tomato, carrot, parsley, dill, beef, rice, egg. 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.
You might also like
Tomato Soup526 recipes
Roast Beef211 recipes
Beef Loaf175 recipes
Carrot Soup134 recipesThe 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.