Name: Creole Gumbo
Ingredients: 1 tablespoon butter or lard; 2 ounces bacon, chopped fine; 1 cup okra, sliced very fine; 4 cups hot water; 1 cup crab meat, chopped (or shrimp, chicken, veal, or beef); 1 small piece of ham (optional); boiled rice for serving

Why it works: Okra and rice match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 6% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 250 recipes. Both carry 2-methoxy-4-vinylphenol, which smells clove, smoky. The science ↓

Creole Gumbo

Ingredients

1 tablespoon butter or lard
2 ounces bacon, chopped fine
1 cup okra, sliced very fine
4 cups hot water
1 cup crab meat, chopped (or shrimp, chicken, veal, or beef)
1 small piece of ham (optional)
boiled rice for serving

Directions

The book gives no cooking times; the times in the steps were added in transcription, so check for doneness rather than trusting the clock.

In a saucepan, melt the butter or lard over medium heat.
Add the chopped bacon and cook until browned.
Stir in the sliced okra and cook for a few minutes.
Gradually add the hot water while stirring constantly.
Add the crab meat (or shrimp, chicken, veal, or beef) and the optional ham.
Simmer for 20 minutes and serve with boiled rice.

Recipe from a historical cookbook (Internet Archive).

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.

Okra + ricetop 6% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together250 recipes

Shared aroma: 2-methoxy-4-vinylphenol (clove, smoky).
Okra + crabtop 9% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together33 recipes

Shared aroma: 2,3,5-trimethylpyrazine (cocoa, roasted).
Butter + crabtop 10% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together812 recipes

Shared aroma: nonanal (fat, citrus).
Crab + ricetop 13% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together117 recipes

Shared aroma: 2,3,5-trimethylpyrazine (cocoa, roasted).
Butter + ricetop 16% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together9,645 recipes

Shared aroma: trans-2-nonenal (cardboard, fatty).

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

What each ingredient does

Okra: Releases natural thickening that gives the gumbo its body as it cooks.
Bacon: Renders fat and browns, adding savory flavor to the base.
Crab meat: Provides the main seafood flavor and tender protein in the gumbo.