Name: Vol Au Vents of Oysters a LA Creme
Ingredients: 2 vol au vent cases; oysters; butter; flour; milk; cream; salt; pepper; parsley

Why it works: Pepper and parsley match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 2% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 34,122 recipes. Both carry 4'-methylacetophenone, which smells bitter almond. The science ↓

Vol Au Vents of Oysters a LA Creme

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare two vol au vent cases as directed in the recipe for Salmi of Partridges a la Bohemienne.
In a pan, melt butter and add flour to make a roux.
Gradually whisk in milk and cream until smooth and thickened.
Season with salt and pepper.
Add oysters to the sauce and cook gently until just heated through.
Fill the vol au vent cases with the oyster mixture.
Serve garnished with chopped parsley.

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.

Pepper + parsleytop 2% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together34,122 recipes

Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).
Butter + milktop 7% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together81,283 recipes

Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).
Butter + creamtop 8% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together41,516 recipes

Shared aroma: delta-dodecalactone (sweet, creamy).
Butter + flourtop 12% of all pairs

Smell alikelow

Cooked together124,287 recipes

Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
Flour + parsleytop 12% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together16,675 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

Swap the parsley

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (oyster, butter, flour, milk, cream, pepper):

Nutmegfits better
Cinnamonfits about as well
Parsleythe original
Celeryfits about as well

Fit is the average pairing score against oyster, butter, flour, milk, cream, pepper. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.