Why it works: Onion and walnut are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 15% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 1,771 recipes. Both carry 2,4-decadienal, which smells seaweed. The science ↓
Mutton and Kidney Pudding
Ingredients
Directions
Cut slices from an underdone leg of mutton and kidneys.
Layer the mutton and kidneys alternately with minced onions.
Prepare in a shape or solely in paste, avoiding heavy seasoning.
Pour good gravy into the pudding before boiling.
Use walnut ketchup for flavoring.
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 + walnuttop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together1,771 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).
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Mutton + oniontop 18% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together4,531 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).
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Onion + ketchuptop 19% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together1,997 recipes
Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
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Walnut + ketchuptop 22% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together596 recipes
Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
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Mutton + ketchuptop 24% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together367 recipes
Shared aroma: decanoic acid (soapy, waxy).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
Swap the walnut
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (mutton, onion, ketchup):
- Beansfits better
- Peasfits better
- Walnutthe original
- Sesamefits about as well
Fit is the average pairing score against mutton, onion, ketchup. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.
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