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Sauce

Sweet Potato Gravy

A smooth sauce of sweet potatoes, onions, garlic and pecans thickened with a dark brown roux and sweetened with cane syrup.

From the Recipes Wiki (Fandom) · 9 ingredients
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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 ↓

Sweet Potato Gravy

Time5 minutes

Ingredients

Directions

Make the roux and sauté

  1. Make a dark brown roux.

  2. Add onions and sauté 5 minutes.

Simmer and blend

  1. Stir in garlic, pecans and water.

  2. Season with salt and cayenne.

  3. Bring liquid to a boil.

  4. Add sweet potatoes and blend until smooth.

  5. Stir in syrup and green onions.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

692Calories
19 gProtein
4 gFat
145 gCarbs

Counts 7 of 9 ingredients. The other 2 aren't in our nutrition table and add nothing above, so the real totals are higher.

What these numbers assume: 7 portions
IngredientPortion assumedkcal
Flour1 cup (125g) all-purpose455
Potato1 medium (173g) baked161
Onion1 medium (110g)44
Pecan1 half (4g)20
Chili1 tsp (2.7g)8
Garlic1 clove (3g)4
Salt1 tsp (6g)0
Waternot in our table0
Syrupnot in our table0

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.

  1. Onion + garlictop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together29,058 recipes

    Shared aroma: furaneol (caramel, strawberry).

  2. Garlic + sweet potatotop 8% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together631 recipes

    Shared aroma: linalool (floral, citrus).

  3. Garlic + peppertop 8% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together27,090 recipes

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

  4. Flour + sweet potatotop 9% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together627 recipes

    Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).

  5. Onion + sweet potatotop 10% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together960 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).

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

What each ingredient does

Flour
Thickens the gravy when cooked in fat to form a roux.
Onions
Builds a sweet, savory flavor base as they soften and brown.
Sweet potatoes
Add body and a creamy texture when blended into the liquid.
Pecans
Add richness and a toasted, nutty flavor.
Pure cane syrup
Adds sweetness and depth to balance the savory and spicy notes.
Garlic
Adds aroma and a sharp savory note.

The step that matters

Make a dark brown roux. Flour and fat must be stirred constantly over moderate heat. Color develops gradually, and scorched flour turns bitter and can ruin the whole gravy.

Swap the onion

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (flour, garlic, pepper, sweet potato, syrup):

  1. Spinachfits better
  2. Okrafits better
  3. Kalefits better
  4. Onionthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against flour, garlic, pepper, sweet potato, syrup. 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.

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