Name: Broccoli-Cheese Soup
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 30 min
Yield: 10
Ingredients: 1 whole Onion, Diced; 1 stick 1/2 Cup Butter; 1/3 cup Flour; 4 cups Whole Milk; 2 cups Half-and-half; 4 heads Broccoli Cut Into Florets; 1 pinch Nutmeg; 3 cups Grated Cheese (mild Cheddar, Sharp Cheddar, Jack, Etc.); Small Dash Of Salt (more If Needed); Freshly Ground Black Pepper; Chicken Broth If Needed For Thinning

Why it works: Onion and broccoli match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 6% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 3,294 recipes. Both carry coumarin, which smells sweet, hay. The science ↓

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.

Onion + broccolitop 6% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together3,294 recipes

Shared aroma: coumarin (sweet, hay).
Butter + milktop 7% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together81,283 recipes

Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).
Nutmeg + peppertop 7% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together13,015 recipes

Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).
Flour + nutmegtop 8% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together18,623 recipes

Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
Butter + cheesetop 8% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together7,962 recipes

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

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

Swap the onion

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (butter, flour, milk, broccoli, nutmeg, cheese, pepper):

Potatofits better
Spinachfits better
Mustardfits better
Onionthe original

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

Ingredient	Portion assumed	kcal
Flour	1 cup (125g) all-purpose	455
Chicken	100g cooked	165
Milk	1 cup (244ml) whole	149
Cheese	1 oz (28g) cheddar	113
Cheddar Cheese	1 oz (28g)	113
Butter	1 tbsp (14g)	102
Broccoli	1 cup chopped (156g)	55
Onion	1 medium (110g)	44
Nutmeg	1 tsp ground (2.2g)	12
Black Pepper	1 tsp ground (2.3g)	6
Salt	1 tsp (6g)	0

Broccoli-Cheese Soup