Mock Turtle Soup

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. Mushroom + tomatotop 7% of all pairs
   Smell alikemoderate
   Cooked together2,719 recipes

   Shared aroma: 1-octen-3-one (mushroom, metallic).

2. Butter + mushroomtop 7% of all pairs
   Smell alikemoderate
   Cooked together12,525 recipes

   Shared aroma: trans-2-decenal (waxy, orange).

3. Onion + tomatotop 8% of all pairs
   Smell alikemoderate
   Cooked together20,633 recipes

   Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).

4. Onion + mushroomtop 10% of all pairs
   Smell alikemoderate
   Cooked together10,626 recipes

   Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).

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

   Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).

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

Calf's head

Provides the meat and gelatin that give the soup its body and rich texture.

Onions

Build savory depth and aromatic sweetness in the broth as they cook down.

Mushrooms

Add earthy umami flavor to the broth.

Flour

Thickens the broth so it has a fuller, smoother body.

Tomato pulp

Adds acidity and color, balancing the richness of the broth.

Red currant jelly

Adds sweetness and a tart fruity note that balances the savory broth.

Swap the red currant

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

1. Avocadofits better
2. Plumfits better
3. Cherryfits better
4. Red currantthe original

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