Name: Fast and Furious Turkey Chili
Ingredients: 1 large onion, peeled and quartered; 3-4 celery ribs, cut into large pieces; 1 (3 ounce) can green chilies; 1-2 garlic clove, peeled; 4 cups chicken stock; 2-4 lbs cooked turkey; 1 teaspoon dried lemon peel (or lemon zest); 1-2 teaspoon ground ginger; 4 tablespoons chili powder; 2 tablespoons cumin; 2 tablespoons dried oregano; 2 cups corn; 2 (15 ounce) cans great northern beans, drained; 1/3 cup cornmeal; 1/4 cup white vinegar; 8 servings Change size or US/met

Why it works: Clove and ginger match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 6,038 recipes. Both carry estragole, which smells anise, licorice. The science ↓

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.

Clove + gingertop 1% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together6,038 recipes

Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).
Onion + garlictop 1% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together29,058 recipes

Shared aroma: furaneol (caramel, strawberry).
Celery + lemontop 3% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together3,467 recipes

Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).
Lemon + gingertop 5% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together5,154 recipes

Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).
Garlic + gingertop 6% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together6,402 recipes

Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).

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

What each ingredient does

Turkey: Provides the main protein and substance, with chunks that hold their shape in the simmer.
Great northern beans: Add starchy body and creaminess to the chili while holding their shape.
Corn: Adds sweetness, and processing part of it releases starch that thickens the broth.
Cornmeal: Thickens the chili as it absorbs liquid and swells during the final stir.
Chicken stock: Forms the cooking liquid that carries the flavors and keeps the chili moist.
White vinegar: Adds a bright acidity at the end that lifts and balances the rich, spiced flavors.

The step that matters

Adding the cornmeal. Cornmeal thickens as its starch absorbs liquid and swells, so adding too much at once can make the chili gluey or stiff. Adding it in portions and stirring lets you reach the desired thickness gradually.

Swap the lemon

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (onion, celery, garlic, clove, chicken, turkey, ginger):

Limefits about as well
Lemonthe original
Avocadofits about as well
Coconutfits less well

Fit is the average pairing score against onion, celery, garlic, clove, chicken, turkey, ginger. 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.

Ingredient	Portion assumed	kcal
Chicken	100g cooked	165
Corn	1/2 cup kernels (82g)	77
Onion	1 medium (110g)	44
Lemon Peel	juice of 1 lemon (48ml)	12
Lemon	juice of 1 lemon (48ml)	12
Chili	1 tsp (2.7g)	8
Cumin	1 tsp ground (2.1g)	8
Clove	1 tsp ground (2g)	7
Celery	1 stalk (40g)	6
Oregano	1 tsp dried (1.8g)	5
Garlic	1 clove (3g)	4
Vinegar	1 tbsp (15ml) distilled	3
Ginger	1 tsp grated fresh (2g)	2
Bean	not in our table	0

Fast and Furious Turkey Chili