Bacon Pies

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.

1. Milk + wheattop 6% of all pairs
   Smell alikemoderate
   Cooked together2,418 recipes

   Shared aroma: (e,z)-2,6-nonadienal (cucumber, melon).

2. Milk + buttertop 7% of all pairs
   Smell alikemoderate
   Cooked together81,283 recipes

   Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).

3. Onion + peppertop 11% of all pairs
   Smell alikemoderate
   Cooked together68,474 recipes

   Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).

4. Wheat + flourtop 12% of all pairs
   Smell alikemoderate
   Cooked together4,373 recipes

   Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).

5. 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

What each ingredient does

Wheat flour

Forms the gluten network that gives the dough its structure and elasticity.

Yeast

Produces carbon dioxide during fermentation, making the dough rise and become light.

Milk

Adds moisture and softness to the dough and helps it brown slightly.

Butter or margarine

Adds fat that tenderises the dough and makes it richer in texture.

Egg

Beaten egg smeared on the pies promotes browning and a glossy finish.

Smoked bacon

Provides the main savoury flavour and fat in the filling.

The step that matters

Swap the onion

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

1. Potatofits better
2. Capsicumfits better
3. Asparagusfits better
4. Onionthe original

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