Spare Rib

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.

1. Butter + flourtop 12% of all pairs
   Smell alikelow
   Cooked together124,287 recipes

   Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).

2. Flour + sagetop 13% of all pairs
   Smell alikemoderate
   Cooked together2,115 recipes

   Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).

3. Butter + sagetop 17% of all pairs
   Smell alikemoderate
   Cooked together3,312 recipes

   Shared aroma: 3-hexenal (apple, fruity).

Butter and flour barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 124,287 recipes: they work on texture and structure more than aroma.

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

What each ingredient does

Spare rib

Provides the meat and fat that make up the dish, cooking slowly to become tender.

Butter

Adds richness and moisture to the surface while the rib roasts, and helps it brown.

Flour

Coats the surface, helping it brown and form a slightly crisp outer layer.

Dried sage

Adds an earthy, aromatic herb flavour to the outside of the rib.

Swap the sage

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (butter, flour):

1. Jalapenofits better
2. Capersfits better
3. Nutmegfits better
4. Sagethe original

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