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Asparagus Tips in Lemon Butter

Sautéed asparagus tips with lemon butter and mushrooms.

From the Recipes Wiki (Fandom) · 4 ingredients
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Why it works: Asparagus and lemon work together. They rank in the top 6% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 704 recipes. Both carry trans-2-nonenal, which smells cardboard, fatty. The science ↓

Asparagus Tips in Lemon Butter

Timeabout 3 minutes

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare

  1. Trim the tips from the asparagus, approximately the top 2 or 3 inches, saving the stalks for another use.

Cook

  1. Melt the butter in a heavy skillet over medium heat and add the lemon juice. Add the mushrooms and sauté until they begin to darken and release their liquid, about 5 minutes.

  2. Add the asparagus tips to the skillet and continue cooking for about 3 minutes, or until the asparagus are just tender. Serve at once.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

156Calories
6 gProtein
12 gFat
11 gCarbs
What these numbers assume: 4 portions
IngredientPortion assumedkcal
Butter1 tbsp (14g)102
Asparagus6 spears (90g)27
Mushroom1/2 cup sliced (35g)15
Lemonjuice of 1 lemon (48ml)12

One typical portion per ingredient; the recipe's quantities are not counted. A rough guide only, not for medical or dietary planning.

Recipe from the Recipes Wiki (Fandom).

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 their aromas overlap, and how often cooks already put them together.

  1. Asparagus + lemontop 6% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together704 recipes

    Shared aroma: trans-2-nonenal (cardboard, fatty).

  2. Asparagus + mushroomtop 7% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together400 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2,4-nonadienal (fatty, green).

  3. Butter + mushroomtop 7% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together12,525 recipes

    Shared aroma: trans-2-decenal (waxy, orange).

  4. Lemon + mushroomtop 15% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together4,633 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).

  5. Butter + lemontop 16% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together41,227 recipes

    Shared aroma: 3-hexenal (apple, fruity).

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

Butter
Melts to coat the pan and carries flavor, adding richness and helping the vegetables brown lightly.
Mushrooms
Release their liquid and brown in the pan, adding savory depth and a meaty texture.
Asparagus
Cooks quickly to a tender texture while keeping its green, fresh flavor.
Lemon juice
Adds acidity that brightens the buttery flavor of the dish.

The step that matters

Adding the asparagus tips and timing the cook. Asparagus tips cook in just a few minutes and turn dull and mushy with overcooking. Removing them once just tender keeps their color and bright texture, which is why the record says to serve at once.

Swap the lemon

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (asparagus, butter, mushroom):

  1. Lemonthe original
  2. Coconutfits about as well
  3. Avocadofits less well
  4. Cherryfits less well

Fit is the average pairing score against asparagus, butter, mushroom. 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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