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Celery Soup

A soup made with celery, milk, water, flour, butter, onion, and nutmeg.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
By Hatfield (Mass.). Congregational Church · From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 22 ingredients
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Why it works: Celery and lemon match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 3% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 3,467 recipes. Both carry beta-phellandrene, which smells minty, terpene. The science ↓

Celery Soup

Ingredients

Directions

  1. Combine one quart of milk, one pint of water, one large head of celery, two tablespoons flour, one tablespoon butter, one onion, and a grating of nutmeg.

  2. Boil the celery in the water for forty minutes.

  3. Boil the milk, onion, and nutmeg together.

  4. Mash the boiled celery in the water in which it has been boiled.

  5. Add the flour and butter to the milk.

  6. Add the mashed celery, strain, and serve.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

975Calories
38 gProtein
27 gFat
145 gCarbs

Counts 12 of 13 ingredients. The other 1 aren't in our nutrition table and add nothing above, so the real totals are higher.

What these numbers assume: 12 portions
IngredientPortion assumedkcal
Flour1 cup (125g) all-purpose455
Milk1 cup (244ml) whole149
Black Bean1/2 cup canned (120g) drained114
Butter1 tbsp (14g)102
Egg1 large egg (50g)78
Onion1 medium (110g)44
Lemonjuice of 1 lemon (48ml)12
Celery1 stalk (40g)6
Black Pepper1 tsp ground (2.3g)6
Cayenne1 tsp (1.8g)6
Mustard1 tsp (5g) yellow3
Salt1 tsp (6g)0
Waternot in our table0

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

By Hatfield (Mass.). Congregational 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.

  1. Celery + lemontop 3% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together3,467 recipes

    Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).

  2. Beans + celerytop 6% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together1,159 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-methoxy-4-vinylphenol (clove, smoky).

  3. Milk + buttertop 7% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together81,283 recipes

    Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).

  4. Celery + oniontop 7% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together18,518 recipes

    Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).

  5. Beans + oniontop 7% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together5,242 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).

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

What each ingredient does

Celery
Gives the soup its main flavour and, once boiled and mashed, its body.
Milk
Forms the creamy base of the soup.
Flour
Thickens the milk so the soup becomes smooth and body-rich.
Butter
Adds richness and carries flavour through the soup.

The step that matters

Adding the flour and butter to the milk. Flour thickens only when it is cooked in liquid, and it can form lumps if it is not fully mixed in. Stirring it smoothly into the hot milk helps the soup thicken evenly.

Swap the onion

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (milk, flour, butter, beans, celery, lemon, egg):

  1. Asparagusfits better
  2. Leekfits better
  3. Chivefits better
  4. Onionthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against milk, flour, butter, beans, celery, lemon, egg. 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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