Why it works: Asparagus and spinach match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 274 recipes. Both carry 2-methoxy-4-vinylphenol, which smells clove, smoky. The science ↓
Spring Soup
Ingredients
Directions
Make the stock
Make the stock a day before by breaking the veal bones and cutting the veal into pieces.
Combine veal, calves' feet, and ham (or salt and cayenne) in a soup pot with water.
Simmer slowly for several hours until the veal is tender and shreds easily.
Strain the soup. Store it in a stone pan if not using immediately.
Prepare the vegetables
Boil the green peas and asparagus tops until tender.
Pound spinach to extract juice. Set aside the spinach juice.
Finish and serve
Reheat the stock.
Add the peas, then the asparagus, then the spinach juice.
Add the butter rolled in flour. Bring to a boil.
Serve in a tureen.
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.
-
Asparagus + spinachtop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together274 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-methoxy-4-vinylphenol (clove, smoky).
-
Peas + asparagustop 4% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together808 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
-
Peas + spinachtop 8% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together550 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isobutyl-3-methoxypyrazine (green bell pepper, earthy).
-
Spinach + flourtop 10% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together1,564 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
-
Butter + flourtop 12% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together124,287 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
- Veal knuckle
- Gives the stock body and rich flavour as its collagen and marrow cook into the water.
- Calves' feet
- Their gelatin thickens the stock and gives it a silky, full mouthfeel.
- Green peas
- Provide sweetness and a soft, tender texture that fills out the soup.
- Asparagus tops
- Add a fresh, grassy flavour and delicate vegetable texture to the soup.
- Spinach juice
- Adds a bright green colour and mild vegetal flavour to the soup.
- Butter
- Flour-coated butter melts into the hot soup, enriching it and slightly thickening it.
The step that matters
Adding the butter rolled in flour. Flour-coated butter must be whisked into hot liquid and brought to a boil so the starch fully cooks and thickens smoothly without lumps or a raw floury taste.
Swap the peas
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (veal, ham, asparagus, spinach, butter, flour):
- Lentilsfits better
- Beansfits better
- Almondfits better
- Peasthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against veal, ham, asparagus, spinach, butter, flour. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.
“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.
You might also like
Green Peas229 recipes
Asparagus Soup179 recipes
Asparagus Salad77 recipes
Spinach Soup50 recipesThe free Flavor Lab newsletter: one surprising pairing a week and the molecular reason it works, in 60 seconds. No spam, unsubscribe anytime.
Prefer an account? Create a free account to save pairings and unlock the full chemistry.