Name: Blooming Onion
Ingredients: 1 giant onion, the larger, the better; 1-2 eggs, depending on the size of the onion; 1 cup flour, put some hot water into it, seasoned with pepper, paprika, oregano, thyme and cumin, chili, and any spices you prefer; stir everything thoroughly

Why it works: Oregano and cumin match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 983 recipes. Both carry estragole, which smells anise, licorice. The science ↓

Blooming Onion

Ingredients

1 giant onion, the larger, the better
1-2 eggs, depending on the size of the onion
1 cup flour, put some hot water into it, seasoned with pepper, paprika, oregano, thyme and cumin, chili, and any spices you prefer; stir everything thoroughly

Directions

Cut off the top of the onion, remove the skin. Cut a "X" over the onion, and turn it 90 degree, cut another "X". Keep doing it until you cut at least 10-16 times. Remember to leave the bottom intact, otherwise the flower will be destroyed. After doing this, cut the core out of the center.
Put the onion into an iced water for 2 minutes, then carefully spread the onion petals apart.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

608Calories

22 gProtein

8 gFat

111 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
Flour	1 cup (125g) all-purpose	455
Egg	1 large egg (50g)	78
Onion	1 medium (110g)	44
Cumin	1 tsp ground (2.1g)	8
Chili	1 tsp (2.7g)	8
Black Pepper	1 tsp ground (2.3g)	6
Oregano	1 tsp dried (1.8g)	5
Thyme	1 tsp dried (1.4g)	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).

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.

Oregano + cumintop 1% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together983 recipes

Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).
Oregano + thymetop 1% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together791 recipes

Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).
Thyme + cumintop 3% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together349 recipes

Shared aroma: cuminaldehyde (Spicy, cumin).
Pepper + thymetop 4% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together11,585 recipes

Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).
Pepper + oreganotop 5% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together3,449 recipes

Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).

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

Swap the onion

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (egg, flour, pepper, oregano, thyme, cumin):

Eggplantfits better
Spinachfits better
Capsicumfits better
Onionthe original

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