Why it works: Clove and pepper match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 5% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 17,451 recipes. Both carry ethyl octanoate, which smells fruity, wine. The science ↓
Greens, Stewed
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare the greens
Wash the greens in several waters and cut them into quarters.
Drain well and boil in salted, skimmed water for 10 minutes.
Remove from water, press out excess water, and soak in cold water for 30 minutes.
Stew
Drain again, tie the greens up, and cover with stock.
Add the herbs, onion, clove, bacon, pepper, and salt.
Stew gently until tender.
Serve
Serve with mutton, lamb, or veal.
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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Clove + peppertop 5% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together17,451 recipes
Shared aroma: ethyl octanoate (fruity, wine).
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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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Onion + clovetop 13% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together16,901 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonanone (fruity, floral).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Greens
- Long gentle stewing softens their fibres until they become tender and silky.
- Bacon
- Rendered fat and smoky flavour season the stock and coat the greens.
- Onion
- Releases sweetness and aromatic depth into the stewing liquid.
The step that matters
Stew gently until tender. Gentle heat lets tough greens break down slowly; a hard boil toughens and dulls them, so simmer slowly and check for tenderness.
Swap the onion
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (clove, pepper):
- Capsicumfits better
- Carrotfits better
- Eggplantfits better
- Onionthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against clove, 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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