Name: Oakland Stuffed Peppers
Ingredients: 6 green peppers; 1 extra green pepper; 1 small onion; 1 cup peeled and chopped tomatoes; 2 tablespoons butter or salad oil; 1 teaspoon salt; 1 cup bread crumbs

Why it works: Butter and bread are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 7% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 27,232 recipes. Both carry delta-decalactone, which smells sweet, creamy. The science ↓

Oakland Stuffed Peppers

Ingredients

Directions

The book gives no oven temperature. The 350°F (175°C) in the steps was added when the recipe was transcribed, as a starting point.

Prepare

Cut off the tops of the green peppers and scoop out the seeds.
Chop the extra green pepper and the onion.

Stuff and bake

In a bowl, mix the chopped pepper, onion, tomatoes, butter or salad oil, salt, and bread crumbs.
Stuff the mixture into the prepared peppers and replace the tops.
Bake the stuffed peppers at 350°F (175°C) for 30 minutes, basting with butter or salad oil 2-3 times.
Serve hot as a vegetable.

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.

Butter + breadtop 7% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together27,232 recipes

Shared aroma: delta-decalactone (sweet, creamy).
Pepper + tomatotop 7% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together17,923 recipes

Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
Onion + tomatotop 8% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together20,633 recipes

Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
Tomato + breadtop 10% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together1,013 recipes

Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
Pepper + oniontop 11% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together68,474 recipes

Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).

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

What each ingredient does

Green peppers: Hollowed shells that hold the filling and soften during baking.
Bread crumbs: Absorb moisture and give the filling body so it holds its shape.
Tomatoes: Add moisture and acidity that keep the filling juicy as it bakes.
Butter or salad oil: Adds fat and richness, and basting helps the peppers brown and stay moist.