Why it works: Ham and veal are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 15% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 3,264 recipes. Both carry 2,4-decadienal, which smells seaweed. The science ↓
Turtle Soup
Ingredients
Directions
Cut off the turtle's head the day before.
In the morning, open the turtle by cutting around the shell.
Turn it upright to drain the water.
Cut the flesh along the spine, avoiding the gall.
Wash the flesh and let it drain.
Boil the shells in a large vessel of water until they come off easily.
Prick the shells and boil the back and belly until the bones can be removed.
Lay the flesh on earthen dishes to cool.
Keep the blanching liquor for the soup.
In a large stewpan, layer ham, veal knuckles, turtle flesh, and members.
Moisten with the boiling water and stir thoroughly.
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.
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Ham + vealtop 15% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together3,264 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
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