Why it works: Carrot and celery match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 10,173 recipes. Both carry myristicin, which smells spice, warm. The science ↓
Vegetable Soup
Ingredients
Directions
The book gives no cooking times; the times in the steps were added in transcription, so check for doneness rather than trusting the clock.
In a large pot, heat the butter or oil over medium heat.
Add the mixed vegetables and sauté for 5 minutes.
Pour in the water or broth and bring to a boil.
Reduce heat and simmer for 20 minutes until vegetables are tender.
Season with salt and pepper before serving.
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.
Photo for illustrative purposes only · Contact us to use it
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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Carrot + celerytop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together10,173 recipes
Shared aroma: myristicin (spice, warm).
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Carrot + potatotop 4% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together3,107 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isobutyl-3-methoxypyrazine (green bell pepper, earthy).
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Celery + peppertop 5% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together16,012 recipes
Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).
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Carrot + peppertop 6% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together14,555 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
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Potato + celerytop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together2,047 recipes
Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Mixed vegetables
- Provide the bulk of the soup and its flavour as they soften and release sugars.
- Water or vegetable broth
- Forms the liquid base that cooks the vegetables and carries flavour through the soup.
- Butter or oil
- Carries heat into the pot and sautés the vegetables, adding fat and richness.
The step that matters
Simmer until the vegetables are tender. Simmering gently cooks vegetables through without breaking them apart. Stopping too early leaves them firm and starchy, while boiling too hard can make them mushy and cloudy the broth.
Swap the potato
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (carrot, celery, pepper, butter):
- Parsnipfits better
- Capsicumfits about as well
- Turnipfits about as well
- Potatothe original
Fit is the average pairing score against carrot, celery, pepper, butter. 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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