Name: Onion Soup I
Ingredients: 1 lager Spanish onion 1 large red onion; 1 bundle green onions 1 white onion; 1tbsp butter 4 small cloves garlic peeled and crushed; 4 sticks celery, diced (optional) 2 c beef stock; 2 c chicken stock 2 c water; 1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce garlic powder (optional); onion powder (optional) croutons and grated cheese (optional)

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 ↓

Onion Soup I

Ingredients

1 lager Spanish onion 1 large red onion
1 bundle green onions 1 white onion
1tbsp butter 4 small cloves garlic peeled and crushed
4 sticks celery, diced (optional) 2 c beef stock
2 c chicken stock 2 c water
1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce garlic powder (optional)
onion powder (optional) croutons and grated cheese (optional)

Directions

Prepare the onions

Slice the onions and place them in a frying pan with butter and garlic.
Add four sticks of diced celery to be fried with the onions.
Gently sauté the onions and celery, if desired, until golden brown.

Make the soup

Transfer the onions into a large soup pot, adding the stock, water, and Worcestershire sauce (you might also add a bit of garlic powder, but that's optional).
Cook this mixture down over a medium-low flame until it's reduced by two cups.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

693Calories

67 gProtein

40 gFat

14 gCarbs

Counts 8 of 9 ingredients. The other 1 aren't in our nutrition table and add nothing above, so the real totals are higher.

What these numbers assume: 8 portions

Ingredient	Portion assumed	kcal
Beef	100g cooked	250
Chicken	100g cooked	165
Cheese	1 oz (28g) cheddar	113
Butter	1 tbsp (14g)	102
Onion	1 medium (110g)	44
Soy Sauce	1 tbsp (15ml)	9
Celery	1 stalk (40g)	6
Garlic	1 clove (3g)	4
Water	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.

Recipe from the Recipes Wiki (Fandom).

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.

Onion + garlictop 1% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together29,058 recipes

Shared aroma: furaneol (caramel, strawberry).
Beef + chickentop 4% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together2,148 recipes

Shared aroma: 2-furfurylthiol (coffee, roasted).
Clove + celerytop 6% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together4,668 recipes

Shared aroma: gamma-decalactone (peach, creamy).
Onion + beeftop 7% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together17,092 recipes

Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
Onion + celerytop 7% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together18,518 recipes

Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).

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

What each ingredient does

Onions: Caramelize into sweetness and depth as they brown, forming the soup's main flavor base.
Butter: Carries heat into the onions and adds richness while they fry and brown.
Garlic: Adds pungent aroma that mellows and sweetens as it cooks with the onions.
Beef stock: Provides the savory liquid base that the onions simmer and reduce in.

The step that matters

Gently sauté the onions until golden brown. Onions brown through the Maillard reaction and sugar caramelization, which build the soup's deep flavor. Cooking too fast over high heat scorches the sugars and tastes bitter, while low, patient heat develops sweetness evenly.

Swap the onion

The recipe marks onion as optional. How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (butter, clove, garlic, celery, beef, chicken, sauce):

Onionthe original
Tomatofits about as well
Leekfits about as well
Potatofits about as well

Fit is the average pairing score against butter, clove, garlic, celery, beef, chicken, sauce. 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.