Crockpot Spaghetti Sauce

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. Tomato + garlictop 3% of all pairs
   Smell alikemoderate
   Cooked together14,076 recipes

   Shared aroma: furaneol (caramel, strawberry).

3. Beef + mushroomtop 4% of all pairs
   Smell alikemoderate
   Cooked together3,232 recipes

   Shared aroma: 2,4-nonadienal (fatty, green).

4. Mushroom + garlictop 6% of all pairs
   Smell alikemoderate
   Cooked together4,700 recipes

   Shared aroma: linalool (floral, citrus).

5. Beef + oniontop 7% of all pairs
   Smell alikemoderate
   Cooked together17,092 recipes

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

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

What each ingredient does

Ground beef

Provides the meaty body and savory base of the sauce.

Tomato paste

Concentrates tomato flavour and thickens the sauce body.

Diced tomatoes

Add moisture and acidity that forms the bulk of the sauce.

Flour

Thickens the sauce so it clings to the pasta.

Brown sugar

Adds sweetness that balances the acidity of the tomatoes.

Mushrooms

Add moisture and earthy savory depth as they soften during long cooking.

Swap the onion

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (beef, pepper, mushroom, tomato, sauce, sugar, garlic):

1. Capsicumfits better
2. Spinachfits about as well
3. Onionthe original
4. Potatofits about as well

Fit is the average pairing score against beef, pepper, mushroom, tomato, sauce, sugar, garlic. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.