Name: Redcurrant & Red Onion Relish
Yield: Makes one 400g pot
Ingredients: 2 medium red onions , peeled and cut into thin wedges; 1 small red pepper , seeded and cut into small chunks; 2 tbsp olive oil; 1 plump red chilli , seeded and chopped; 2 large garlic cloves , chopped; 1 small knob fresh ginger , chopped; 200ml red wine vinegar; 140g light muscovado sugar; 1 tsp five spice powder; 200g redcurrants , stripped from stalks

Why it works: Clove and ginger match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and 6,038 recipes mention both. 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 aroma chemistry they share, and how many recipes mention both.

Clove + gingertop 1% of all pairs

Aroma overlapstrong

Mentioned together6,038 recipes

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

Aroma overlapstrong

Mentioned together29,058 recipes

Shared aroma: furaneol (caramel, strawberry).
Olive + garlictop 2% of all pairs

Aroma overlapmoderate

Mentioned together25,665 recipes

Shared aroma: linalool (floral, citrus).
Pepper + clovetop 5% of all pairs

Aroma overlapstrong

Mentioned together17,451 recipes

Shared aroma: ethyl octanoate (fruity, wine).
Garlic + gingertop 6% of all pairs

Aroma overlapmoderate

Mentioned together6,402 recipes

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

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

Flavor stand-ins for the ginger

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (onion, pepper, olive, garlic, clove, red wine, vinegar):

Thymebetter flavor fit
Rosemarybetter flavor fit
Basilbetter flavor fit
Gingerthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against onion, pepper, olive, garlic, clove, red wine, vinegar. 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).

Redcurrant & Red Onion Relish