Name: Stuffed Peppers
Ingredients: 4 large bell peppers; 1 cup seasoned bread crumbs; 1 cup chopped cooked meat (optional); 1/2 cup onion juice; 1 cup plain boiled rice; 1/4 cup melted butter; 1/2 cup stock or boiling water

Why it works: Bread and butter are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 7% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 27,232 recipes. Both carry delta-decalactone, which smells sweet, creamy. The science ↓

Stuffed Peppers

Oven, in the book's wordsA hot oven

Ingredients

Directions

The book says “a hot oven”. The 400°F (200°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.

Prepare the filling

Cut off the tops of the bell peppers and remove the veins and seeds.
In a bowl, mix the seasoned bread crumbs, chopped meat (if using), onion juice, and boiled rice. Moisten the mixture with melted butter.

Bake and serve

Stuff the peppers with the mixture and place them close together in a baking dish. Pour stock or boiling water into the dish.
Bake in a 400°F (200°C) oven for about 30 minutes.

Recipe from a historical cookbook (Internet Archive).

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.

Bread + buttertop 7% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together27,232 recipes

Shared aroma: delta-decalactone (sweet, creamy).
Onion + ricetop 9% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together10,433 recipes

Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).
Pepper + oniontop 11% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together68,474 recipes

Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
Pepper + ricetop 12% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together8,379 recipes

Shared aroma: trans-2-nonenal (cardboard, fatty).
Bread + ricetop 13% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together1,259 recipes

Shared aroma: 2-acetyl-1-pyrroline (popcorn, roasted).

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

What each ingredient does

Bell peppers: Hollow shells that hold the filling and soften as they bake.
Seasoned bread crumbs: Bulk and body for the filling, absorbing moisture so it holds together.
Plain boiled rice: Adds bulk and a tender, separate-grain texture to the stuffing.
Melted butter: Adds fat and richness, moistening the filling and aiding browning.
Onion juice: Adds savory onion flavor and moisture to the filling.