Why it works: Milk and butter match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 3% of all ingredient pairs, and 81,222 recipes mention both. Both carry (z)-4-heptenal, which smells biscuit, cream. The science ↓
The recipe
5 cupsIngredients
Contains: milk, soy (auto-detected from the ingredients and method; we can miss things, so check labels)
Directions
Method written by CompKitchen from the ingredient list. Not the original author's method, not kitchen-tested.
Heat the vegetable oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add the chopped onion and cook, stirring, until soft and translucent, about 5 minutes.
Add the shelled edamame and chicken stock. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer, cover, and cook until the edamame is very tender, about 20 minutes.
Remove the pot from the heat and let cool slightly. Purée the soup with an immersion blender until smooth, or work in batches in a blender with the lid vented.
Return the soup to low heat. Stir in the milk and butter and warm through for about 10 minutes, without letting it boil.
Season with salt and pepper to taste and serve hot.
Explore the science
The flavor team
The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much aroma chemistry they share, and how many recipes mention both.
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Milk + buttertop 3% of all pairsAroma overlapstrongMentioned together81,222 recipes
Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).
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Onion + chickentop 4% of all pairsAroma overlapmoderateMentioned together17,808 recipes
Shared aroma: gamma-nonanolactone (coconut, sweet).
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Chicken + milktop 6% of all pairsAroma overlapstrongMentioned together4,387 recipes
Shared aroma: 1-hexanal (fruit).
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Onion + peppertop 6% of all pairsAroma overlapmoderateMentioned together68,463 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
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Chicken + buttertop 7% of all pairsAroma overlapstrongMentioned together13,869 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-furfurylthiol (coffee, roasted).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
Flavor stand-ins for the onion
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (chicken, milk, butter, pepper):
- Potatobetter flavor fit
- Capsicumbetter flavor fit
- Tomatobetter flavor fit
- Onionthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against chicken, milk, butter, pepper. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes. This compares flavor only: it does not check the job the ingredient does in the dish (bulk, moisture, acidity, structure).
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