Why it works: Flour and beetroot match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 7% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 515 recipes. Both carry isobutyraldehyde, which smells malty, green. The science ↓
Red Velvet Cake
Serves 12Ingredients
Directions
Step-by-step directions aren't available for this recipe. See the full recipe at the source →
Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)
Counts 10 of 11 ingredients. The other 1 aren't in our nutrition table and add nothing above, so the real totals are higher.
What these numbers assume: 10 portions
| Ingredient | Portion assumed | kcal |
|---|---|---|
| Flour | 1 cup (125g) all-purpose | 455 |
| Chocolate | 1 oz (28g) semisweet | 155 |
| Cheese | 1 oz (28g) cheddar | 113 |
| Butter | 1 tbsp (14g) | 102 |
| Yogurt | 170g plain Greek | 100 |
| Egg | 1 large egg (50g) | 78 |
| Sugar | 1 tbsp (12.5g) granulated | 49 |
| Vanilla | 1 tsp extract (4ml) | 12 |
| Vinegar | 1 tbsp (15ml) distilled | 3 |
| Salt | 1 tsp (6g) | 0 |
| Beetroot | not in our table | 0 |
One typical portion per ingredient; the recipe's quantities are not counted. A rough guide only, not for medical or dietary planning.
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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Flour + beetroottop 7% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together515 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Butter + flourtop 12% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together124,287 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Butter + yogurttop 12% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together4,333 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,3-pentanedione (butter, sweet).
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Yogurt + beetroottop 12% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together154 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Chocolate + sugartop 13% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together15,404 recipes
Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).
Butter and flour barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 124,287 recipes: they work on texture and structure more than aroma.
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
Swap the beetroot
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (butter, chocolate, flour, sugar, cocoa powder, egg, yogurt):
- Capsicumfits about as well
- Sweet potatofits about as well
- Beetrootthe original
- Potatofits about as well
Fit is the average pairing score against butter, chocolate, flour, sugar, cocoa powder, egg, yogurt. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.
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