Name: South of the Border Zucchini Soup
Ingredients: 1/4 c. olive oil; 1 bunch green onions, trimmed, both green and white parts chopped; 1/2 med. red onion, chopped; 3 cloves garlic; 2 T. ground cumin; 3 lg. or 4 med. zucchini (1 1/2 to 2 lb.), ends trimmed and quartered; 1 sm. white potato, peeled and diced; 6 c. vegetable or chicken soup; salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste; 1/2 c. shredded low fat Cheddar cheese; 1/2 c. shredded low fat Monterey Jack cheese

Why it works: Onion and garlic match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 29,058 recipes. Both carry furaneol, which smells caramel, strawberry. 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.

Onion + garlictop 1% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together29,058 recipes

Shared aroma: furaneol (caramel, strawberry).
Garlic + cumintop 1% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together5,082 recipes

Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).
Olive + garlictop 2% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together25,665 recipes

Shared aroma: linalool (floral, citrus).
Onion + potatotop 3% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together9,023 recipes

Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
Clove + cumintop 4% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together1,306 recipes

Shared aroma: cuminaldehyde (Spicy, cumin).

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

What each ingredient does

Olive oil: Carries heat evenly and softens the aromatics without browning them quickly.
Zucchini: Forms the body of the soup and, once pureed, gives it its smooth texture.
White potato: Adds starch that thickens the soup and makes it creamier when pureed.
Green onions: Contribute mild onion aroma that builds the soup's savory base.
Cumin: Adds warm, earthy aroma that flavors the soup.
Cheddar and monterey jack cheese: Melt over the hot soup, adding richness and savory flavor as a garnish.

The step that matters

Puree in small batches with the lid held down. Hot soup expands as it is blended, and a full container can force the lid off and spill scalding liquid. Filling only half full and holding the lid firmly keeps the soup contained and the blend smooth.

Swap the clove

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (olive, onion, garlic, cumin, potato, chicken, pepper):

Thymefits better
Corianderfits better
Oreganofits better
Clovethe original

Fit is the average pairing score against olive, onion, garlic, cumin, potato, chicken, pepper. 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
Potato	1 medium (173g) baked	161
Vegetable	1 tbsp (14g)	120
Olive Oil	1 tbsp (14g)	119
Cheddar Cheese	1 oz (28g)	113
Cheese	1 oz (28g) cheddar	113
Onion	1 medium (110g)	44
Cucumber	1/2 cup sliced (52g)	16
Cumin	1 tsp ground (2.1g)	8
Black Pepper	1 tsp ground (2.3g)	6
Garlic	1 clove (3g)	4
Salt	1 tsp (6g)	0
Soup	not in our table	0

South of the Border Zucchini Soup