Name: Carrot and Zucchini Casserole
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 1 h 5 min
Yield: 6 servings
Ingredients: 2 cups sliced carrots; 2 cups peeled and sliced zucchini; 1/4 cup chopped onion; 2 tablespoons butter; 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour; 1 1/2 cups half-and-half; 2 cubes chicken bouillon; 1/2 cup shredded Colby-Jack cheese; 1/2 teaspoon dry mustard; 1/2 teaspoon dried dill weed; seasoned dry bread crumbs; 1/4 cup butter, melted

Why it works: Carrot and dill match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 321 recipes. Both carry 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine, which smells earthy, pea. The science ↓

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.

Carrot + dilltop 1% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together321 recipes

Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
Mustard + dilltop 2% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together560 recipes

Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
Onion + mustardtop 6% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together9,259 recipes

Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
Carrot + oniontop 6% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together21,601 recipes

Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
Onion + chickentop 8% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together17,814 recipes

Shared aroma: gamma-nonanolactone (coconut, sweet).

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

Swap the dill

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

Capersfits better
Thymefits better
Garlicfits better
Dillthe original

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

Ingredient	Portion assumed	kcal
Flour	1 cup (125g) all-purpose	455
Chicken	100g cooked	165
Cheese	1 oz (28g) cheddar	113
Butter	1 tbsp (14g)	102
Onion	1 medium (110g)	44
Carrot	1 medium (61g)	25
Cucumber	1/2 cup sliced (52g)	16
Dill	5 sprigs fresh (1g) / 1 tsp dried	4
Mustard	1 tsp (5g) yellow	3

Carrot and Zucchini Casserole