Why it works: Onion and pepper are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 11% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 68,474 recipes. Both carry 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine, which smells earthy, pea. The science ↓
Onion Soup
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare the onions
Peel and slice the onions.
In a frying pan, heat the butter and add the onions.
Cover and cook on low heat until the onions are tender but not browned.
Make the soup
Transfer the onions to a soup kettle and add the stock.
Boil gently for 30 minutes, then season with salt and pepper.
Press the soup through a puree sieve and serve.
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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Onion + peppertop 11% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together68,474 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
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Onion + buttertop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together42,912 recipes
Shared aroma: decanal (soap, orange peel).
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Butter + peppertop 21% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together85,593 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
- Onions
- Provide the main body and sweetness as they soften and release their sugars into the stock.
- Butter
- Adds fat and richness, helping the onions soften gently in the pan.
- Stock
- Forms the liquid base of the soup and carries the onion flavor.
The step that matters
Cook the onions covered on low heat until tender but not browned. Slow, covered cooking softens the onions and draws out their natural sweetness. High heat or browning turns the sugars bitter and can change the flavor of the finished soup.
Swap the onion
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (butter, pepper):
- Capsicumfits better
- Potatofits better
- Carrotfits about as well
- Onionthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against butter, 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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