Why it works: Onion and pepper are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 11% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 68,474 recipes. Both carry 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine, which smells earthy, pea. The science ↓
Kidney Fritters
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare
Skin the kidneys and cut each into three or four pieces.
Mix the minced herbs and onion with the kidneys.
Season with pepper and salt.
Cook and serve
Fry in hot fat until golden brown.
Serve immediately.
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.
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Onion + peppertop 11% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together68,474 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
- Kidneys
- Form the main body of the fritters, providing the meaty texture once cooked.
- Minced herbs
- Add aroma that brightens the mild, rich flavour of the kidneys.
- Onion
- Adds savoury sweetness and aroma as it mingles with the kidneys.
The step that matters
Fry in hot fat until golden brown. The fat must be hot enough to brown the surface quickly. Browning gives flavour and a crisp exterior, while slow frying in cool fat lets the pieces soak up grease and turn soggy and dry.
“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.
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