Why it works: Carrot and pepper match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 6% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 14,555 recipes. Both carry 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine, which smells earthy, pea. The science ↓
A Baked Soup
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare
Cut the meat into slices.
Chop the onions and carrots.
Make the soup
In a pot, combine the meat, onions, carrots, and enough water to cover.
Simmer until the meat is tender.
Add rice flour, pepper, and coarse sea salt to taste.
Strain the mixture and serve hot.
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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Carrot + peppertop 6% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together14,555 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
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Onion + carrottop 6% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together21,601 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
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Carrot + ricetop 7% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together2,477 recipes
Shared aroma: trans-2-nonenal (cardboard, fatty).
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Onion + ricetop 9% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together10,433 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).
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Onion + peppertop 11% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked 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
- Meat
- Provides the main protein and savory flavor as it simmers and becomes tender.
- Rice flour
- Thickens the broth, giving it a fuller, more body-rich texture.
- Onions
- Add savory sweetness and aroma as they soften and release flavor into the broth.
- Carrots
- Add natural sweetness and body to the broth as they cook.
Swap the onion
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (meat, carrot, rice, flour, pepper):
- Parsnipfits better
- Turnipfits better
- Capsicumfits better
- Onionthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against meat, carrot, rice, flour, 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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