Roast Duck

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.

1. Bread + buttertop 7% of all pairs
   Smell alikemoderate
   Cooked together27,232 recipes

   Shared aroma: delta-decalactone (sweet, creamy).

2. Onion + peppertop 11% of all pairs
   Smell alikemoderate
   Cooked together68,474 recipes

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

3. Butter + flourtop 12% of all pairs
   Smell alikelow
   Cooked together124,287 recipes

   Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).

4. Onion + buttertop 15% of all pairs
   Smell alikemoderate
   Cooked together42,912 recipes

   Shared aroma: decanal (soap, orange peel).

5. Bread + oniontop 15% of all pairs
   Smell alikemoderate
   Cooked together8,676 recipes

   Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).

Butter and flour barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 124,287 recipes: they work on texture and structure more than aroma.

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

What each ingredient does

Duck

Provides the main meat, whose fat renders during roasting and keeps the flesh moist.

Bread

Forms a soft stuffing that fills the cavity and absorbs juices as the duck cooks.

Butter

Adds fat to the stuffing, enriching flavor and helping it stay moist.

Flour

Dredged on the surface, it helps the skin brown and turn crisp-looking.

The step that matters

Swap the currant

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (bread, onion, pepper, butter, flour):

1. Avocadofits better
2. Figfits better
3. Lemonfits better
4. Currantthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against bread, onion, pepper, butter, flour. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.