Why it works: Pepper and ginger match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 9% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 6,800 recipes. Both carry 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine, which smells earthy, pea. The science ↓
Shrimp Straws
Ingredients
Directions
Chop the shelled shrimps, onion, and ginger very fine using a chopper.
In a large bowl, combine the chopped mixture with the egg whites, salt, and pepper.
Beat the ingredients until stiff.
Spread the mixture on thinly sliced bread.
Cut the bread into strips about 1 inch wide and 4 inches long.
Sprinkle with browned bread crumbs.
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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Pepper + gingertop 9% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together6,800 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
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Onion + gingertop 9% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together7,595 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
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Onion + peppertop 11% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together68,474 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
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Bread + eggtop 13% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together22,662 recipes
Shared aroma: (e)-2-octenal (fatty, green).
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Shrimp + gingertop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together721 recipes
Shared aroma: methyl 2-methylbutyrate (fruity, apple).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
Swap the ginger
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (shrimp, bread, egg, onion, pepper):
- Garlicfits better
- Parsleyfits better
- Capersfits better
- Gingerthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against shrimp, bread, egg, onion, pepper. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.
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