Cheddar Cheese Soup

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. Butter + milktop 7% of all pairs
   Smell alikemoderate
   Cooked together81,283 recipes

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

2. Butter + creamtop 8% of all pairs
   Smell alikemoderate
   Cooked together41,516 recipes

   Shared aroma: delta-dodecalactone (sweet, creamy).

3. Pepper + mustardtop 9% of all pairs
   Smell alikemoderate
   Cooked together15,430 recipes

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

4. Butter + flourtop 12% of all pairs
   Smell alikelow
   Cooked together124,287 recipes

   Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).

5. Flour + mustardtop 13% of all pairs
   Smell alikemoderate
   Cooked together5,066 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

Butter

Enriches the base and carries flavor while forming the start of the roux.

Flour

Thickens the liquid into a smooth, body-giving sauce when cooked with the butter.

Milk

Forms the liquid base that the roux thickens into a creamy soup.

Cream

Adds richness and a smooth, velvety texture to the soup.

Cheddar cheese

Provides the main flavor and, once melted, gives the soup its body and richness.

The step that matters

Swap the mustard

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

1. Potatofits better
2. Asparagusfits better
3. Leekfits better
4. Mustardthe original

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