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

Why it works: Cucumber and tomato are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 4% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 2,405 recipes. Both carry 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine, which smells earthy, pea. The science ↓

Modern Cookery

Ingredients

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

Directions

Chop the onions and cucumbers.
Add the tomatoes or apples and cook for 30 to 40 minutes.
Stir in the curry powder and salt.
Pour in the water, broth, or stock and simmer for 20 to 32 minutes.

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.

Cucumber + tomatotop 4% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together2,405 recipes

Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
Onion + cucumbertop 8% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together6,050 recipes

Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
Onion + tomatotop 8% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together20,633 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

Onions: Soften and sweeten as they cook, forming the body of the curry base.
Cucumbers: Release moisture and soften into the curry, giving it a tender, juicy texture.
Tomatoes: Break down into the cooking liquid, adding acidity and body to the sauce.
Curry powder: Supplies the spice blend that gives the dish its characteristic aroma and flavour.