Name: Lime Garlic Marinade
Ingredients: ½ cup chicken broth; 1 tsp shredded lime peel; ⅓ cup lime juice; 2 tbsp oil; 1 tbsp brown sugar; 2 minced garlic cloves; ⅛ tsp cayenne pepper

Why it works: Lime and pepper match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 2% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 3,491 recipes. Both carry beta-phellandrene, which smells minty, terpene. The science ↓

Lime Garlic Marinade

Ingredients

Directions

Combine ingredients in a shallow dish.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

363Calories

32 gProtein

18 gFat

20 gCarbs

What these numbers assume: 7 portions

Ingredient	Portion assumed	kcal
Chicken	100g cooked	165
Olive Oil	1 tbsp (14g)	119
Sugar	1 tbsp (12.5g) granulated	49
Lime	juice of 1 lime (44ml)	11
Chili	1 tsp (2.7g)	8
Clove	1 tsp ground (2g)	7
Garlic	1 clove (3g)	4

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.

Lime + peppertop 2% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together3,491 recipes

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

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together17,451 recipes

Shared aroma: ethyl octanoate (fruity, wine).
Lime + clovetop 7% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together909 recipes

Shared aroma: eucalyptol (eucalyptus, herbal).
Lime + garlictop 7% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together3,411 recipes

Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).
Chicken + garlictop 7% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together10,850 recipes

Shared aroma: 3-ethyl-2,5-dimethylpyrazine (roasted, nutty).

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

What each ingredient does

Lime juice: Provides acidity that brightens flavor and begins to tenderize the surface of meat.
Garlic: Adds pungent aroma and savory depth to the marinade.
Brown sugar: Adds sweetness and helps the surface brown when cooked.
Oil: Carries fat-soluble aroma compounds and helps keep the surface moist.

Swap the clove

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (chicken, lime, sugar, garlic, pepper):

Corianderfits better
Cuminfits better
Gingerfits better
Clovethe original

Fit is the average pairing score against chicken, lime, sugar, garlic, 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.