Why it works: Mushroom and chicken match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 2% of all ingredient pairs, and 4,171 recipes mention both. Both carry 1-butyl acetate, which smells fruity, banana. The science ↓
The recipe
Ingredients
Contains: milk, soy, fish (auto-detected from the ingredients and method; we can miss things, so check labels)
Directions
Prepare the base
Melt butter in large stock pot and saute garlic, onions and celery for 5-8 minutes.
Slice all of the mushrooms together and set aside 1/2 cup for garnish.
Make the soup
Add the remaining mushrooms and potatoes to pot and continue to saute for an additional 5 minutes.
Add the stock; bring to a boil.
Simmer on medium-high heat until the potatoes are tender, approx 20 minutes.
Remove from heat and add thyme.
Puree in blender, return to pot.
Add sherry, light cream, salt, pepper and Worcestershire sauce, warm through.
Garnish and serve
Meanwhile, saute the reserved mushrooms in a little olive oil, and season them with salt and pepper.
Add the mushrooms to the soup and stir well.
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.
-
Mushroom + chickentop 2% of all pairsAroma overlapstrongMentioned together4,171 recipes
Shared aroma: 1-butyl acetate (fruity, banana).
-
Onion + garlictop 1% of all pairsAroma overlapstrongMentioned together29,030 recipes
Shared aroma: furaneol (caramel, strawberry).
-
Garlic + shiitaketop 2% of all pairsAroma overlapmoderateMentioned together292 recipes
Shared aroma: coumarin (sweet, hay).
-
Onion + potatotop 2% of all pairsAroma overlapstrongMentioned together9,019 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
-
Butter + mushroomtop 3% of all pairsAroma overlapstrongMentioned together12,516 recipes
Shared aroma: trans-2-decenal (waxy, orange).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Shiitake mushrooms
- Provide the main earthy flavor and body of the soup.
- Potatoes
- Break down when simmered and puree to give the soup a thick, creamy texture.
- Light cream
- Adds fat and richness, softening the soup's flavor and mouthfeel.
- Chicken stock
- Forms the liquid base that carries the flavors and cooks the potatoes.
- Spanish onion
- Sweetens as it softens in butter, building a savory base flavor.
The step that matters
Puree in blender, return to pot. Blending hot liquid can build pressure and spray it out, and the soup must be cooked through and smooth before cream is added. Blend in batches, leaving the lid vent open, to keep it safe and silky.
Flavor stand-ins for the celery
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (onion, butter, garlic, shiitake, mushroom, potato, chicken):
- Thymebetter flavor fit
- Gingerabout as good a flavor fit
- Parsleyabout as good a flavor fit
- Celerythe original
Fit is the average pairing score against onion, butter, garlic, shiitake, mushroom, potato, chicken. 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.