Why it works: Pepper and tomato are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 7% of all ingredient pairs, and 17,923 recipes mention both. Both carry 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine, which smells earthy, pea. The science ↓
Maccaroni, with Tomato Sauce
Ingredients
Directions
Add whole pepper and cream to the maccaroni and stir together.
When the cheese forms threads, place the maccaroni on a hot dish and remove the onion.
Pour thick tomato sauce over the maccaroni 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 aroma chemistry they share, and how many recipes mention both.
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Pepper + tomatotop 7% of all pairsAroma overlapmoderateMentioned together17,923 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
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Cream + saucetop 9% of all pairsAroma overlapmoderateMentioned together4,787 recipes
Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
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Tomato + saucetop 15% of all pairsAroma overlaplowMentioned together5,469 recipes
Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
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Pepper + creamtop 23% of all pairsAroma overlaplowMentioned together21,449 recipes
Shared aroma: acetic acid (sour, vinegar).
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Pepper + saucetop 27% of all pairsAroma overlaplowMentioned together15,303 recipes
Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
Pepper and cream share little aroma chemistry, yet 21,449 recipes mention both: they likely work on texture and structure more than aroma.
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
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