Name: Cheddar-stuffed Burgers
Ingredients: 3 tablespoons ketchup; 3 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce; 2 tablespoons fresh parsley, chopped; 1½ teaspoon chili powder; 1 teaspoon garlic powder; ¾ teaspoon salt; ½ teaspoon minced dried onion; ½ teaspoon ground pepper; ¼ teaspoon hot pepper sauce; 1½ lbs lean ground turkey; 1 ounce low-fat cheddar cheese, cut into four pieces; 4 hamburger buns; romaine lettuce leaves, torn into pieces; 8 thin tomato slices

Why it works: Ketchup and sauce match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 1,099 recipes. Both carry ethanol, which smells alcoholic, ethereal. The science ↓

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.

Ketchup + saucetop 1% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together1,099 recipes

Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
Garlic + oniontop 1% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together29,058 recipes

Shared aroma: furaneol (caramel, strawberry).
Parsley + peppertop 2% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together34,122 recipes

Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).
Parsley + garlictop 4% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together9,308 recipes

Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).
Garlic + peppertop 8% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together27,090 recipes

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

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

What each ingredient does

Lean ground turkey: Forms the patty base; being lean, it gives a drier, firmer texture than fattier meat.
Low-fat cheddar cheese: Melts inside the patty, adding a creamy, savory filling.
Ketchup: Adds sweetness and acidity, and helps keep the patties moist and flavorful.
Worcestershire sauce: Adds savory depth and umami to the turkey and glaze.

The step that matters

Pinching the edges to seal the patties. Lean turkey dries out easily and the cheese can leak if the edges are not sealed. A tight seal keeps the filling inside and the burger juicier while it cooks through.

Swap the parsley

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (ketchup, sauce, garlic, onion, pepper, turkey, cheddar cheese):

Thymefits about as well
Celeryfits about as well
Parsleythe original
Sagefits less well

Fit is the average pairing score against ketchup, sauce, garlic, onion, pepper, turkey, cheddar cheese. 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.

Ingredient	Portion assumed	kcal
Beef	100g cooked	250
Chicken	100g cooked	165
Cheddar Cheese	1 oz (28g)	113
Onion	1 medium (110g)	44
Tomato	1 medium (123g)	22
Soy Sauce	1 tbsp (15ml)	9
Chili	1 tsp (2.7g)	8
Pepper	1 tsp ground (2.3g)	6
Black Pepper	1 tsp ground (2.3g)	6
Romaine Lettuce	1 cup shredded (36g)	5
Garlic	1 clove (3g)	4
Parsley	1 tbsp chopped fresh (3.8g)	1
Salt	1 tsp (6g)	0
Sauce	not in our table	0

Cheddar-stuffed Burgers