Why it works: Butter and milk match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 3% of all ingredient pairs, and 81,222 recipes mention both. Both carry (z)-4-heptenal, which smells biscuit, cream. The science ↓
The recipe
Ingredients
Contains: egg, milk, wheat (auto-detected from the ingredients and method; we can miss things, so check labels)
Directions
Prepare the lentils
Soak green lentils overnight with a cup of water.
Add 1 cup of water and cook over low heat for 20-25 minutes or until tender.
Set aside.
Make the soup
Saute chopped onion in melted margarine for 2-3 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Stir in flour, blending well.
Add water, green lentils, and rice; stir.
Simmer for 35-40 minutes or until rice is tender.
Place the mixture into a food processor container.
Process until well blended and creamy.
Season with salt.
Bring to a boil and simmer for a minute.
Finish and serve
Combine slightly beaten egg and milk, mixing well.
Blend the mixture into the soup, stirring constantly.
Boil gently for 1 minute.
Sprinkle with red pepper.
Top with toasted bread cubes.
Serve hot.
This recipe comes from the Recipes Wiki on Fandom and is licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Our formatting and summaries are shared under the same licence.
Steps grouped into stages for easier reading; the method is the source's own.
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.
-
Butter + milktop 3% of all pairsAroma overlapstrongMentioned together81,222 recipes
Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).
-
Rice + milktop 3% of all pairsAroma overlapstrongMentioned together7,354 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
-
Lentils + flourtop 4% of all pairsAroma overlapstrongMentioned together248 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
-
Onion + ricetop 5% of all pairsAroma overlapstrongMentioned together9,990 recipes
Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).
-
Lentils + ricetop 6% of all pairsAroma overlapmoderateMentioned together252 recipes
Shared aroma: 1-hexanol (resin, flower).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Green lentils
- Provide the main body and earthy flavour, thickening the soup as they break down.
- All purpose flour
- Thickens the soup by gelatinising with the liquid as it simmers.
- Rice
- Adds starch that helps thicken the soup and gives it a smoother body.
- Egg
- Enriches the soup and adds body when gently heated with the milk.
- Milk
- Adds creaminess and richness to the soup.
- Butter or margarine
- Carries the onion flavour and adds richness to the soup.
The step that matters
Blend the egg and milk into the soup. Adding the egg mixture to a hot soup can scramble it. Stirring constantly while blending it in, and boiling only gently afterwards, keeps the soup smooth and creamy.
Flavor stand-ins for the onion
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (lentils, butter, flour, rice, egg, milk, pepper):
- Potatobetter flavor fit
- Capsicumbetter flavor fit
- Asparagusbetter flavor fit
- Onionthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against lentils, butter, flour, rice, egg, milk, pepper. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes. This compares flavor only: it does not check the job the ingredient does in the dish (bulk, moisture, acidity, structure).
“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.
You might also like
Illustration
Illustration
Illustration
IllustrationThe 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.