Why it works: Rhubarb and sugar are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 18% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 1,852 recipes. Both carry 1-penten-3-one, which smells fish, pungent. The science ↓
Sweet Vol-au-vent with Rhubarb
Ingredients
Directions
Make the rhubarb filling
Combine rhubarb, sugar, and water in a 2-quart saucepan.
Cook over high heat, stirring gently, until rhubarb is tender but not browned.
Remove from heat and let cool in a basin.
Serve
Just before serving, fill the vol-au-vent with the cooled rhubarb mixture and serve cold.
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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Rhubarb + sugartop 18% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together1,852 recipes
Shared aroma: 1-penten-3-one (fish, pungent).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Rhubarb
- Provides the tart flavour and the soft, saucy filling once cooked until tender.
- Sugar
- Sweetens the tart rhubarb and helps it cook down into a syrupy filling.
- Water
- Adds moisture so the rhubarb softens evenly in the saucepan without scorching.
The step that matters
Cook until tender but not browned. Rhubarb breaks down quickly over high heat, and stirring gently keeps the pieces intact. Browning changes the bright flavour and colour, so the cook should stop as soon as the rhubarb is tender.
“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.
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