Why it works: Butter and milk are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 7% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 81,283 recipes. Both carry (z)-4-heptenal, which smells biscuit, cream. The science ↓
Bermuda Soup
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare the onions
Peel and slice three Bermuda onions.
Brown them in pork fat or a little butter until a delicate brown.
Cook the onions in boiling salted water until tender.
Make the soup
Melt two tablespoonfuls of butter in a double boiler.
Stir in two tablespoonfuls of flour.
Gradually whisk in two cups of milk.
When the mixture is smooth, add the onions and cook for a half hour.
Mash the soup through a sieve.
Reheat the soup.
Season with a teaspoonful of salt and a little pepper.
Add half cup of cream.
Serve immediately.
Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)
What these numbers assume: 7 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 |
| 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.
Transcribed from a scanned cookbook and modernised for today's kitchens. Where the book gave no heat or time, or said "a moderate oven", the temperatures and times here may be modern equivalents rather than the book's own figures. See the original page.
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.
-
Butter + milktop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together81,283 recipes
Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).
-
Butter + creamtop 8% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together41,516 recipes
Shared aroma: delta-dodecalactone (sweet, creamy).
-
Onion + peppertop 11% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together68,474 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
-
Butter + flourtop 12% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together124,287 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
-
Flour + milktop 14% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together78,219 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
Butter and flour barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 124,287 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
- Butter
- Enriches the flavor and helps form the smooth base with the flour.
- Flour
- Thickens the milk into a smooth, body-giving base for the soup.
- Milk
- Forms the liquid base that the flour thickens into a creamy soup.
- Bermuda onions
- Provide the main flavor and, once mashed, the body of the soup.
- Cream
- Adds richness and a silkier texture at the end.
The step that matters
Gradually whisk in the milk. Adding milk slowly to the hot butter and flour mixture lets the starch hydrate evenly, so the base stays smooth instead of forming lumps.
Swap the onion
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (butter, flour, milk, cream, pepper):
- Potatofits better
- Leekfits better
- Spinachfits better
- Onionthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against butter, flour, milk, cream, pepper. 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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