Why it works: Onion and pepper are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 11% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 68,474 recipes. Both carry 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine, which smells earthy, pea. The science ↓
Gargoyle Sauce
Ingredients
Directions
In a bowl, combine the boiled oil mayonnaise, paprika, Worcestershire sauce, pearl onions, chopped green peppers, and chili sauce, then mix well until all ingredients are thoroughly combined.
Transcribed from a scanned cookbook and modernised for today's kitchens. Where the book gave no heat or time, or said "a moderate oven", the temperatures and times here may be modern equivalents rather than the book's own figures.
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.
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Onion + peppertop 11% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together68,474 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
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Sauce + oniontop 19% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together10,474 recipes
Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
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Sauce + peppertop 27% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together15,303 recipes
Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
Sauce and onion barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 10,474 recipes: they work on texture and structure more than aroma.
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Boiled oil mayonnaise
- Provides the creamy base and rich fat that gives the sauce its body.
- Pearl onions
- Add sharp, savory bite and a little crunch to the sauce.
- Chili sauce
- Adds sweetness, acidity and color, giving the sauce its tangy flavor.
- Worcestershire sauce
- Adds savory depth and a tangy, umami note to the blend.
Swap the onion
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (sauce, pepper):
- Capsicumfits better
- Tomatofits better
- Mustardfits better
- Onionthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against sauce, 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.
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