Why it works: Butter and cream are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 8% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 41,516 recipes. Both carry delta-dodecalactone, which smells sweet, creamy. The science ↓
Asparagus Loaf
Ingredients
Directions
The book gives no oven temperature. The 350°F (175°C) in the steps was added when the recipe was transcribed, as a starting point.
Prepare the mold
Grease a 3‑pint mold or bowl with butter and decorate the bottom and sides with cooked asparagus stalks.
Make the custard
In a double boiler, melt 2 tablespoons of butter.
Stir in 2 tablespoons of flour, ½ teaspoon of salt, and ¼ teaspoon of paprika.
Gradually add 1 cup of cream, 1½ cups of cooked asparagus tips, and 4 beaten eggs.
Pour the mixture into the mold.
Cook and serve
Cook in a dish of hot water until the center is firm, either in the oven at 350°F (175°C) or on the stove without boiling the water.
Invert onto a serving dish and serve with or without a cream sauce with added asparagus tips.
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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Butter + creamtop 8% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together41,516 recipes
Shared aroma: delta-dodecalactone (sweet, creamy).
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Butter + flourtop 12% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together124,287 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Flour + asparagustop 12% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together936 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Flour + eggtop 15% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together106,462 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Asparagus + eggtop 17% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together1,338 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, 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
- Eggs
- Set and bind the custard so the loaf holds its shape when turned out.
- Cream
- Adds moisture and richness, giving the loaf a soft, tender texture.
- Flour
- Thickens the butter mixture so the custard holds together rather than running.
- Butter
- Adds fat for flavor and richness, and greases the mold for easy release.
- Cooked asparagus tips
- Provide the main flavor and visible green pieces throughout the loaf.
The step that matters
Cooking in a water bath until the center is firm. Gentle, indirect heat in hot water lets the eggs set evenly. Boiling water or high heat can make the custard curdle, pockmark, or turn rubbery before the center sets.
Swap the asparagus
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (butter, flour, cream, egg):
- Leekfits better
- Chivefits about as well
- Asparagusthe original
- Shallotfits about as well
Fit is the average pairing score against butter, flour, cream, egg. 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.
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