Macaroni Soup

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. Celery + parsleytop 1% of all pairs
   Smell alikestrong
   Cooked together6,810 recipes

   Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).

2. Spinach + parsleytop 5% of all pairs
   Smell alikestrong
   Cooked together1,025 recipes

   Shared aroma: trans-2-hexenal (green, leafy).

3. Celery + spinachtop 5% of all pairs
   Smell alikestrong
   Cooked together616 recipes

   Shared aroma: 2-methoxy-4-vinylphenol (clove, smoky).

4. Celery + walnuttop 6% of all pairs
   Smell alikestrong
   Cooked together852 recipes

   Shared aroma: alpha-pinene (pine, turpentine).

5. Spinach + walnuttop 7% of all pairs
   Smell alikestrong
   Cooked together221 recipes

   Shared aroma: 2-undecenal (sweet).

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

What each ingredient does

Macaroni (in the method)

Provides the starchy body and bulk that make the soup substantial.

Butter

Adds richness and a rounded, smooth flavour to the cooking water.

Clear stock

Forms the savoury liquid base that carries the flavour of the soup.

Swap the spinach

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (milk, vinegar, celery, bread, butter, walnut, parsley):

1. Shallotfits better
2. Carrotfits better
3. Capsicumfits better
4. Spinachthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against milk, vinegar, celery, bread, butter, walnut, parsley. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.