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White Soup

A light veal broth soup thickened with sago, enriched with egg yolks and cream, flavored with lemon peel, bay leaf, and pepper.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 7 ingredients
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Why it works: Veal and lemon are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 17% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 4,580 recipes. Both carry 3-hexenal, which smells apple, fruity. The science ↓

White Soup

Ingredients

Directions

Make the soup

  1. In a stewpan, strain the veal broth and bring it to a boil.

  2. Add the sago and simmer gently for 20 minutes, skimming well.

  3. Beat the egg yolks and mix with the cream or milk.

  4. Remove the stewpan from heat and quickly stir in the egg and cream mixture.

Serve

  1. Serve immediately, ensuring the soup does not boil to prevent curdling.

Recipe from a historical cookbook (Internet Archive).

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.

  1. Veal + lemontop 17% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together4,580 recipes

    Shared aroma: 3-hexenal (apple, fruity).

  2. Egg + lemontop 19% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together44,316 recipes

    Shared aroma: (e,e)-2,4-decadienal (fatty, deep fried).

  3. Egg + creamtop 24% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together42,166 recipes

    Shared aroma: acetic acid (sour, vinegar).

  4. Veal + creamtop 27% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together3,202 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-heptanol (bitter, floral).

  5. Veal + eggtop 28% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together6,845 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).

Egg and lemon barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 44,316 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

Sago
Thickens the broth as it simmers, giving the soup body and a light, soft texture.
Egg yolks
Enrich and thicken the soup, adding richness and a smooth, silky body.
Cream or milk
Adds moisture and richness, softening the flavour and texture of the soup.
Veal broth
Forms the savoury base of the soup, carrying all the other flavours.

The step that matters

Adding the egg and cream mixture. Egg yolks thicken when heated but curdle if they get too hot or boil. Removing the pan from heat and stirring quickly spreads the heat evenly and keeps the soup smooth.

“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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