Name: Roast Turkey
Ingredients: butter about the size of an egg; salt; pepper

Why it works: Butter and egg are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 17% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 118,967 recipes. Both carry decanal, which smells soap, orange peel. The science ↓

Roast Turkey

Ingredients

butter about the size of an egg
salt
pepper

Directions

After the turkey has been washed, allow it to drain for an hour or so, or over night, before stuffing. Crumb up some stale bread, and for every quart of crumbs add butter about the size of an egg, with a little salt and pepper. Mix all well together and then stuff your turkey : sew up the breast, tie down the legs, and it is ready for the oven. Put a little water in the pan in which it is to be baked, and baste frequently, taking care to turn the turkey over and over, so that every side may be nicely browned. The fowl should be well salted, both inside and out, before being stuffed, also peppered.
Half a can of oysters chopped and added to the dressing makes it very nice.
The giblets should be cooked tender, chopped fine, and added to the gravy before sending to the table.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

186Calories

7 gProtein

17 gFat

2 gCarbs

What these numbers assume: 4 portions

Ingredient	Portion assumed	kcal
Butter	1 tbsp (14g)	102
Egg	1 large egg (50g)	78
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.

By Keokuk (Iowa). Westminster Presbyterian church. Recipe from a historical cookbook (Internet Archive).

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 + eggtop 17% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together118,967 recipes

Shared aroma: decanal (soap, orange peel).
Butter + peppertop 21% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together85,593 recipes

Shared aroma: trans-2-nonenal (cardboard, fatty).
Egg + peppertop 33% of all pairs

Smell alikelow

Cooked together50,580 recipes

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