Name: Marinated Eggplant
Yield: Makes 12 (antipasto) servings with leftovers
Ingredients: 2 pound eggplant, peeled and cut into 3- by 1/4-inch sticks; 3 cups water; 1 1/2 cups white-wine vinegar; 4 garlic cloves, coarsely chopped; 1 tablespoon finely chopped oregano; About 1 1/2 cups olive oil, divided; Accompaniment: crusty Italian bread

Why it works: Eggplant and oregano match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 157 recipes. Both carry alpha-pinene, which smells pine, turpentine. The science ↓

Marinated Eggplant

Makes 12 (antipasto) servings with leftovers

Ingredients

2 pound eggplant, peeled and cut into 3- by 1/4-inch sticks
3 cups water
1 1/2 cups white-wine vinegar
4 garlic cloves, coarsely chopped
1 tablespoon finely chopped oregano
About 1 1/2 cups olive oil, divided
Accompaniment: crusty Italian bread

Directions

Step-by-step directions aren't available for this recipe. See the full recipe at the source →

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

621Calories

14 gProtein

15 gFat

106 gCarbs

Counts 6 of 7 ingredients. The other 1 aren't in our nutrition table and add nothing above, so the real totals are higher.

What these numbers assume: 6 portions

Ingredient	Portion assumed	kcal
Flour	1 cup (125g) all-purpose	455
Olive Oil	1 tbsp (14g)	119
Eggplant	1 cup cubed (82g)	35
Oregano	1 tsp dried (1.8g)	5
Garlic	1 clove (3g)	4
Vinegar	1 tbsp (15ml) distilled	3
Water	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.

By epicurious. Recipe from Open Recipes.

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.

Eggplant + oreganotop 1% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together157 recipes

Shared aroma: alpha-pinene (pine, turpentine).
Eggplant + garlictop 1% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together801 recipes

Shared aroma: coumarin (sweet, hay).
Garlic + oreganotop 2% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together3,756 recipes

Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).
Garlic + olivetop 2% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together25,665 recipes

Shared aroma: linalool (floral, citrus).
Eggplant + olivetop 2% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together943 recipes

Shared aroma: alpha-pinene (pine, turpentine).

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

Swap the clove

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (eggplant, wine, vinegar, garlic, oregano, olive, bread):

Basilfits better
Thymefits better
Rosemaryfits better
Clovethe original

Fit is the average pairing score against eggplant, wine, vinegar, garlic, oregano, olive, bread. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.

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