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Molly’s Dry-rubbed Ribs

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Molly’s Dry-rubbed Ribs

Why it works: Pepper and cumin match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 7% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 4,382 recipes. Both carry methyl cinnamate, which smells strawberry. The science ↓

Molly’s Dry-rubbed Ribs

Ingredients

Directions

Step-by-step directions aren't available for this recipe. See the full recipe at the source →

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

71Calories
1 gProtein
1 gFat
16 gCarbs

Counts 5 of 6 ingredients. The other 1 aren't in our nutrition table and add nothing above, so the real totals are higher.

What these numbers assume: 5 portions
IngredientPortion assumedkcal
Sugar1 tbsp (12.5g) granulated49
Chili1 tsp (2.7g)8
Cumin1 tsp ground (2.1g)8
Black Pepper1 tsp ground (2.3g)6
Salt1 tsp (6g)0
Macenot in our table0

One typical portion per ingredient; the recipe's quantities are not counted. A rough guide only, not for medical or dietary planning.

By smittenkitchen. Recipe from Open Recipes.

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.

  1. Pepper + cumintop 7% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together4,382 recipes

    Shared aroma: methyl cinnamate (strawberry).

  2. Pepper + macetop 16% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together12,257 recipes

    Shared aroma: myristicin (spice, warm).

  3. Cumin + macetop 27% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together55 recipes

    Shared aroma: alpha-pinene (pine, turpentine).

  4. Sugar + cumintop 32% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together1,140 recipes

    Shared aroma: 1-penten-3-one (fish, pungent).

  5. Sugar + peppertop 32% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together19,401 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).

Pepper and mace barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 12,257 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

Swap the mace

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (sugar, pepper, cumin):

  1. Turmericfits better
  2. Cinnamonfits better
  3. Oreganofits better
  4. Macethe original

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