Why it works: Mushroom and onion are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 10% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 10,626 recipes. Both carry 2,4-decadienal, which smells seaweed. The science ↓
Mushroom Soup
Ingredients
Directions
Make the mushroom puree
Mix chopped onions, mushrooms, and water in a bowl and bring to a boil.
Drain water, cool, and blend to a fine puree.
Make the sauce
Heat ghee in a pan and fry the maida until light brown.
Add milk, stir, and boil until the mixture thickens to form a white sauce.
Add mushroom puree to the white sauce and boil again for a few minutes.
Add salt, pepper powder, and stir well.
Serve
Remove from heat and serve hot.
Before serving, add cream on top and serve.
Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)
Counts 8 of 9 ingredients. The other 1 aren't in our nutrition table and add nothing above, so the real totals are higher.
What these numbers assume: 8 portions
| Ingredient | Portion assumed | kcal |
|---|---|---|
| Flour | 1 cup (125g) all-purpose | 455 |
| Milk | 1 cup (244ml) whole | 149 |
| Butter | 1 tbsp (14g) | 102 |
| Cream | 1 tbsp (15ml) heavy | 51 |
| Onion | 1 medium (110g) | 44 |
| Mushroom | 1/2 cup sliced (35g) | 15 |
| Black Pepper | 1 tsp ground (2.3g) | 6 |
| Salt | 1 tsp (6g) | 0 |
| Ghee | not in our table | 0 |
One typical portion per ingredient; the recipe's quantities are not counted. A rough guide only, not for medical or dietary planning.
Steps grouped into stages for easier reading; the method is the source's own.
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.
-
Mushroom + oniontop 10% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together10,626 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).
-
Onion + peppertop 11% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together68,474 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
-
Mushroom + peppertop 11% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together13,580 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
-
Mushroom + milktop 12% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together2,231 recipes
Shared aroma: 1-hexanal (fruit).
-
Flour + milktop 14% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together78,219 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
Flour and milk barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 78,219 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
What each ingredient does
- Button mushrooms
- Provide the main flavor and, once pureed, the body of the soup.
- Maida (all-purpose flour)
- Fried in ghee and thickened with milk to form the white sauce base.
- Milk
- Forms the liquid of the white sauce, giving it a smooth, creamy texture when thickened.
- Ghee or butter
- Fat that is heated and used to fry the flour, adding richness and a nutty aroma.
- Onions
- Cooked with the mushrooms to build a savory, aromatic base for the puree.
The step that matters
Frying the maida until light brown. Cooking flour in fat until it is lightly browned removes its raw taste and helps it thicken smoothly. Stopping too early leaves a pasty flavor, while over-browning adds bitterness and darkens the sauce.
Swap the onion
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (mushroom, flour, ghee, milk, pepper, cream):
- Potatofits better
- Spinachfits better
- Capsicumfits better
- Onionthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against mushroom, flour, ghee, milk, pepper, cream. 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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