Fig 5. Variation in average N _s and its statistical significance.

Change in $\overline{N_s}$ with varying recipe size cut-offs reveals the nature of food pairing across the spectrum of recipe sizes. The $\overline{N_s}$ values for regional cuisines were consistently on the lower side compared to their random counterparts. Category controlled random cuisine displayed average N _s variation close to that of the ‘Random control’. Frequency controlled as well as ‘Category + Frequency’ controlled random cuisines, on the other hand, displayed average N _s variations close to that of the real-world cuisine.