Name: Mild Curry
Ingredients: 4 large mild onions; 4 large cucumbers (or 6 middling-sized); 3 to 6 apples or large tomatoes; 3 heaped tablespoons mild curry powder; 1 small tablespoon salt; 2 quarts water, broth, or good stock

Why it works: Onion and cucumber match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 8% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 6,050 recipes. Both carry 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine, which smells earthy, pea. The science ↓

Mild Curry

Ingredients

4 large mild onions
4 large cucumbers (or 6 middling-sized)
3 to 6 apples or large tomatoes
3 heaped tablespoons mild curry powder
1 small tablespoon salt
2 quarts water, broth, or good stock

Directions

Prepare

Chop the onions and cucumbers.
Dice the apples or tomatoes.

Simmer

In a large pot, combine the onions, cucumbers, and apples or tomatoes.
Add the curry powder, salt, and 2 quarts of water, broth, or stock.
Simmer for 30 to 40 minutes until the vegetables are tender.

Recipe from a historical cookbook (Internet Archive).

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.

Onion + cucumbertop 8% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together6,050 recipes

Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
Cucumber + appletop 15% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together363 recipes

Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
Onion + appletop 19% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together3,206 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

Mild onions: Break down during simmering to give the soup body and a sweet, savory base.
Cucumbers: Soften in the liquid, adding mild, fresh vegetable flavor and moisture to the pot.
Apples or tomatoes: Add natural sweetness or acidity that balances the curry powder.
Mild curry powder: Supplies the spice blend that flavors the whole pot as it simmers.