Name: Quarter-Life Coaching: Caitlyn’s Midwestern Fiesta
Ingredients: 4lb large russet potatoes (about 10, one per person), peeled and cut into quarters; 1-2 cups Stock or Half and Half (to thin mash); 1 tbsp salt (to taste); 31/2 lb ground turkey, chicken, or beef; 2 medium yellow onions; 2 carrots, peeled and cubed (fine dice); 4 cloves garlic, pushed through a press; 1 tbsp chili powder; 1 tsp oregano; 1 tbsp cumin; 1/2 tsp cayenne; 1/2 tbsp salt; 1 tbsp flour; 1-2 cups chicken stock; 1 ½ cups frozen corn; 2 15oz can fire roasted diced tomatoes; 1 cup Monterey jack cheese (optional)

Why it works: Oregano and cumin match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 983 recipes. Both carry estragole, which smells anise, licorice. The science ↓

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.

Oregano + cumintop 1% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together983 recipes

Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).
Onion + garlictop 1% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together29,058 recipes

Shared aroma: furaneol (caramel, strawberry).
Carrot + cumintop 1% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together777 recipes

Shared aroma: methyl cinnamate (strawberry).
Garlic + cumintop 1% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together5,082 recipes

Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).
Garlic + oreganotop 2% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together3,756 recipes

Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).

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

Swap the clove

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (potato, turkey, onion, carrot, garlic, oregano, cumin):

Thymefits better
Parsleyfits better
Rosemaryfits better
Clovethe original

Fit is the average pairing score against potato, turkey, onion, carrot, garlic, oregano, cumin. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.

Ingredient	Portion assumed	kcal
Flour	1 cup (125g) all-purpose	455
Beef	100g cooked	250
Chicken	100g cooked	165
Potato	1 medium (173g) baked	161
Cheese	1 oz (28g) cheddar	113
Corn	1/2 cup kernels (82g)	77
Cream	1 tbsp (15ml) heavy	51
Onion	1 medium (110g)	44
Carrot	1 medium (61g)	25
Tomato	1 medium (123g)	22
Chili	1 tsp (2.7g)	8
Cumin	1 tsp ground (2.1g)	8
Cayenne	1 tsp (1.8g)	6
Oregano	1 tsp dried (1.8g)	5
Garlic	1 clove (3g)	4
Salt	1 tsp (6g)	0

Quarter-Life Coaching: Caitlyn’s Midwestern Fiesta