Name: Baked Asparagus
Ingredients: 2 cups asparagus, cut into small pieces; 2 cups bread crumbs; 2 tablespoons butter; 1 cup milk; ½ teaspoon salt; 3-4 dashes pepper

Why it works: Bread and butter are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 7% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 27,232 recipes. Both carry delta-decalactone, which smells sweet, creamy. The science ↓

Baked Asparagus

Oven, in the book's wordsA moderate oven

Ingredients

Directions

The book says “a moderate oven”. The 350°F (175°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.

Prepare

Dust a well-buttered mold lightly with bread crumbs.

Assemble

Arrange asparagus and bread crumbs in alternate layers, dusting each layer with salt and pepper, and dotting with small bits of butter.
Finish with a layer of bread crumbs.
Pour the milk over the top.

Bake

Bake in a moderate oven at 350°F (175°C) until heated through.

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.

Bread + buttertop 7% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together27,232 recipes

Shared aroma: delta-decalactone (sweet, creamy).
Butter + milktop 7% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together81,283 recipes

Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).
Asparagus + peppertop 10% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together1,968 recipes

Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
Bread + milktop 11% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together11,466 recipes

Shared aroma: 2-undecenal (sweet).
Asparagus + breadtop 13% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together363 recipes

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

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

Asparagus: Forms the main body of the dish and adds its vegetable flavor and tender texture.
Bread crumbs: Absorb the milk and butter, giving the layers structure and a soft, set texture.
Milk: Provides moisture that soaks into the crumbs and sets gently as the dish bakes.
Butter: Adds richness and fat that carries flavor and helps the top brown lightly.