Curried Fowl

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.

1. Butter + flourtop 12% of all pairs
   Smell alikelow
   Cooked together124,287 recipes

   Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).

2. Onion + buttertop 15% of all pairs
   Smell alikemoderate
   Cooked together42,912 recipes

   Shared aroma: decanal (soap, orange peel).

3. Butter + lemontop 16% of all pairs
   Smell alikemoderate
   Cooked together41,227 recipes

   Shared aroma: 3-hexenal (apple, fruity).

4. Flour + lemontop 17% of all pairs
   Smell alikemoderate
   Cooked together30,404 recipes

   Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).

5. Onion + flourtop 17% of all pairs
   Smell alikemoderate
   Cooked together32,460 recipes

   Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).

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

What each ingredient does

Cold fowl

Provides the cooked meat that becomes tender again while simmering in the sauce.

Onions

Browning in butter builds sweetness and savoury depth as the base of the sauce.

Butter

Carries the onions' browning and adds richness to the sauce.

Flour

Thickens the gravy into a smooth, coating sauce as it cooks.

Curry powder

Supplies the spice and aroma that define the dish.

Gravy

Forms the liquid that the meat stews in, adding moisture and savouriness.

The step that matters

Swap the lemon

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (onion, butter, flour):

1. Avocadofits better
2. Raisinfits better
3. Coconutfits better
4. Lemonthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against onion, butter, flour. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.