Why it works: Pepper and butter match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 11% of all ingredient pairs, and 85,512 recipes mention both. Both carry trans-2-nonenal, which smells cardboard, fatty. The science ↓
Vermicelli 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.
Bring water to a boil in a pot.
Add a pinch of salt and the vermicelli.
Cook until the vermicelli is tender, about 10 minutes.
Season with salt and pepper to taste.
Stir in a tablespoon of butter 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 aroma chemistry they share, and how many recipes mention both.
-
Pepper + buttertop 11% of all pairsAroma overlapstrongMentioned together85,512 recipes
Shared aroma: trans-2-nonenal (cardboard, fatty).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Vermicelli
- Provides the starch that thickens the broth and forms the soup's body as it cooks.
- Butter
- Adds richness and a silky mouthfeel when stirred into the hot soup.
The step that matters
Cook the vermicelli until tender. Thin noodles go from firm to overcooked quickly, and continued cooking in hot liquid makes them soft and mushy. Checking for tenderness near the stated time helps keep their texture pleasant.
“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.
More vermicelli soup recipes
You might also like
Tomato Soup526 recipes
Brown Bread461 recipes
Mutton Broth292 recipes
Yorkshire Pudding264 recipesThe Sunday pairing: one pairing, the chemistry behind it, and how to cook it. No spam, unsubscribe anytime.
Prefer an account? Create a free account for sign-in; Pro adds the full results and chemistry.