Why it works: Apple and chicory work together. They rank in the top 16% of all ingredient pairs, and 15 recipes mention both. Both carry coumarin, which smells sweet, hay. The science ↓
The recipe
Serves 4Ingredients
Contains: tree nuts (auto-detected from the ingredients and method; we can miss things, so check labels)
Directions
Method written by CompKitchen from the ingredient list. Not the original author's method, not kitchen-tested.
Preheat the oven to 400°F (200°C). In a small bowl, mix the wholegrain mustard, honey and half of the chopped tarragon and parsley, then spread it over the trimmed pork tenderloin.
Cover the pork and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
Heat half of the walnut oil in an ovenproof skillet over medium-high heat. Sear the pork for 2 to 3 minutes per side until browned all over.
Transfer the skillet to the oven and roast for 12 to 15 minutes, until the thickest part reaches 145°F (63°C). Rest the pork for 3 minutes, then slice it.
Whisk the remaining walnut oil, the lemon juice and the remaining herbs together in a large bowl.
Add the sliced apples and chicory leaves to the dressing and toss gently to coat.
Arrange the apple and chicory salad on plates and top with the sliced pork.
Explore the science
The flavor team
The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much aroma chemistry they share, and how many recipes mention both.
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Apple + chicorytop 16% of all pairsAroma overlapmoderateMentioned together15 recipes
Shared aroma: coumarin (sweet, hay).
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Parsley + lemontop 1% of all pairsAroma overlapstrongMentioned together14,036 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).
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Tarragon + parsleytop 2% of all pairsAroma overlapstrongMentioned together1,259 recipes
Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).
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Tarragon + lemontop 2% of all pairsAroma overlapstrongMentioned together884 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).
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Mustard + tarragontop 3% of all pairsAroma overlapstrongMentioned together573 recipes
Shared aroma: methyleugenol (clove, spice).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
Flavor stand-ins for the walnut
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (pork, mustard, tarragon, parsley, lemon, honey, apple):
- Chickpeaabout as good a flavor fit
- Walnutthe original
- Beansabout as good a flavor fit
- Peasabout as good a flavor fit
Fit is the average pairing score against pork, mustard, tarragon, parsley, lemon, honey, apple. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes. This compares flavor only: it does not check the job the ingredient does in the dish (bulk, moisture, acidity, structure).
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