Why it works: Onion and beef are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 7% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 17,092 recipes. Both carry 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine, which smells earthy, pea. The science ↓
Giblet-pie
Ingredients
Directions
Blanch the turkey giblets for a few minutes and trim them.
In a stewpan, melt butter and add the giblets, onion, and bacon. Season and fry on low heat for 30 minutes.
Moisten with white wine and cook until the wine evaporates.
Remove the meat and place it in a pie dish lined with beef slices. Sprinkle with parsley and add the blanched livers.
Pour broth into the stewpan, boil for 5 minutes, skim off fat, thicken with kneaded butter, and strain over the meat.
Finish assembling the pie as directed.
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.
-
Onion + beeftop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together17,092 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
-
Butter + white winetop 9% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together5,083 recipes
Shared aroma: ethyl octanoate (fruity, wine).
-
Onion + parsleytop 9% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together25,843 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).
-
Turkey + beeftop 9% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together248 recipes
Shared aroma: trans-2-decenal (waxy, orange).
-
Onion + white winetop 12% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together4,535 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
Swap the parsley
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (turkey, liver, butter, onion, white wine, beef):
- Thymefits better
- Garlicfits better
- Sagefits about as well
- Parsleythe original
Fit is the average pairing score against turkey, liver, butter, onion, white wine, beef. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.
You might also like
The free Flavor Lab newsletter: one surprising pairing a week and the molecular reason it works, in 60 seconds. No spam, unsubscribe anytime.
Prefer an account? Create a free account to save pairings and unlock the full chemistry.
Roast Beef211 recipes
Beef Loaf175 recipes
Corned Beef87 recipes
Turkey Soup71 recipes