Name: Vermicelli with Ham and Mushrooms
Ingredients: 85 g. (3 oz) button mushrooms. sliced.; 15 g. (1/2 oz) butter.; 85 g. (3 oz) cooked smoked ham, thinly sliced and chopped; 140 ml (1/4 pint) single cream; salt and freshly ground pepper; 250 g. (g oz) Buitoni Vermicelli

Why it works: Mushroom and butter are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 7% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 12,525 recipes. Both carry trans-2-decenal, which smells waxy, orange. The science ↓

Vermicelli with Ham and Mushrooms

Time4 min

Ingredients

85 g. (3 oz) button mushrooms. sliced.
15 g. (1/2 oz) butter.
85 g. (3 oz) cooked smoked ham, thinly sliced and chopped
140 ml (1/4 pint) single cream
salt and freshly ground pepper
250 g. (g oz) Buitoni Vermicelli

Directions

Make the sauce

Gently sauté the mushrooms in the butter until tender.
Add the ham and cream and cook gently, without boiling, until the sauce thickens. Season to taste.

Cook and serve

Place 100 g of pasta in salted boiling water (1 L water, 10 g salt for 100 g pasta).
Boil for 4 min, stirring occasionally.
Drain and then toss through the hot sauce.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

416Calories

30 gProtein

31 gFat

4 gCarbs

What these numbers assume: 6 portions

Ingredient	Portion assumed	kcal
Pork	100g cooked	242
Butter	1 tbsp (14g)	102
Cream	1 tbsp (15ml) heavy	51
Mushroom	1/2 cup sliced (35g)	15
Black Pepper	1 tsp ground (2.3g)	6
Salt	1 tsp (6g)	0

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.

Mushroom + buttertop 7% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together12,525 recipes

Shared aroma: trans-2-decenal (waxy, orange).
Butter + creamtop 8% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together41,516 recipes

Shared aroma: delta-dodecalactone (sweet, creamy).
Mushroom + peppertop 11% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together13,580 recipes

Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
Mushroom + creamtop 15% of all pairs

Smell alikelow

Cooked together4,500 recipes

Shared aroma: 1-octen-3-one (mushroom, metallic).
Mushroom + hamtop 15% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together1,486 recipes

Shared aroma: 1-octen-3-ol (mushroom, earthy).

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

What each ingredient does

Button mushrooms: Soften when sautéed and add earthy flavour and body to the sauce.
Single cream: Forms the base of the sauce and thickens gently as it reduces without boiling.
Cooked smoked ham: Adds savoury, smoky flavour and chewy texture to the sauce.
Vermicelli: Provides the pasta base that carries the sauce.

The step that matters

Thicken the sauce without boiling. Cream can split or curdle if it boils hard, and the sauce only thickens gently through reduction at a low simmer. Keeping the heat low lets the cream thicken smoothly.

“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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Vermicelli with Ham and Mushrooms