Macaroni a LA Milan Aise

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. Tomato + chickentop 8% of all pairs
   Smell alikemoderate
   Cooked together6,031 recipes

   Shared aroma: 3-hexenal (apple, fruity).

2. Butter + saucetop 15% of all pairs
   Smell alikelow
   Cooked together15,338 recipes

   Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).

3. Tomato + saucetop 15% of all pairs
   Smell alikelow
   Cooked together5,469 recipes

   Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).

4. Butter + chickentop 15% of all pairs
   Smell alikemoderate
   Cooked together13,902 recipes

   Shared aroma: 2-furfurylthiol (coffee, roasted).

5. Butter + tomatotop 22% of all pairs
   Smell alikemoderate
   Cooked together6,918 recipes

   Shared aroma: 3-hexenal (apple, fruity).

Butter and sauce barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 15,338 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

Macaroni

Forms the bulk of the dish and soaks up the sauce and gravy.

Tomato sauce

Adds moisture, acidity and flavor that coat the pasta.

Chicken or tongue

Supplies the savory meat flavor and protein in the dish.

Gravy

Moistens the pasta and meat so the dish is not dry.

Swap the tomato

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (butter, sauce, chicken):

1. Onionfits about as well
2. Potatofits about as well
3. Tomatothe original
4. Capsicumfits about as well

Fit is the average pairing score against butter, sauce, chicken. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.