Why it works: Beef and pork match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 5,690 recipes. Both carry 12-methyltridecanal, which smells tallowy, beefy. The science ↓
Italian Wedding Soup with Turkey Meatballs
6 servingsIngredients
Directions
Step-by-step directions aren't available for this recipe. See the full recipe at the source →
Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)
Counts 20 of 24 ingredients. The other 4 aren't in our nutrition table and add nothing above, so the real totals are higher.
What these numbers assume: 20 portions
| Ingredient | Portion assumed | kcal |
|---|---|---|
| Beef | 100g cooked | 250 |
| Pork | 100g cooked | 242 |
| Pasta | 1 cup cooked (140g) | 220 |
| Chicken | 100g cooked | 165 |
| Parmesan Cheese | 1 oz (28g) | 110 |
| Butter | 1 tbsp (14g) | 102 |
| Bread | 1 slice (30g) white | 79 |
| Egg | 1 large egg (50g) | 78 |
| Onion | 1 medium (110g) | 44 |
| Carrot | 1 medium (61g) | 25 |
| Wine | 2 tbsp cooking wine (30ml) | 25 |
| Tomato | 1 medium (123g) | 22 |
| Nutmeg | 1 tsp ground (2.2g) | 12 |
| Spinach | 1 cup raw (30g) | 7 |
| Black Pepper | 1 tsp ground (2.3g) | 6 |
| Oregano | 1 tsp dried (1.8g) | 5 |
| Allspice | 1 tsp ground (1.9g) | 5 |
| Garlic | 1 clove (3g) | 4 |
| Parsley | 1 tbsp chopped fresh (3.8g) | 1 |
| Salt | 1 tsp (6g) | 0 |
| Meatball | not in our table | 0 |
| Soup | not in our table | 0 |
| Water | not in our table | 0 |
| Bean | not in our table | 0 |
One typical portion per ingredient; the recipe's quantities are not counted. A rough guide only, not for medical or dietary planning.
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.
-
Beef + porktop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together5,690 recipes
Shared aroma: 12-methyltridecanal (tallowy, beefy).
-
Parsley + peppertop 2% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together34,122 recipes
Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).
-
Parsley + oreganotop 2% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together1,184 recipes
Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).
-
Garlic + oreganotop 2% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together3,756 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).
-
Parsley + garlictop 4% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together9,308 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
Swap the oregano
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (turkey, beef, pork, bread, parsley, garlic, pepper):
- Thymefits better
- Marjoramfits better
- Sagefits better
- Oreganothe original
Fit is the average pairing score against turkey, beef, pork, bread, parsley, garlic, pepper. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.
The free Flavor Lab newsletter: one surprising pairing a week and the molecular reason it works, in 60 seconds. No spam, unsubscribe anytime.
Prefer an account? Create a free account to save pairings and unlock the full chemistry.
