Why it works: Tomato and pepper are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 7% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 17,923 recipes. Both carry 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine, which smells earthy, pea. The science ↓
Whitb Soup
Ingredients
Directions
Make the soup
Prepare one quart of chicken or veal stock thickened with boiled sifted rice, seasoned with pepper, salt, and celery salt.
Add one cup of boiling cream or milk.
When ready to serve, beat the yolks of two eggs very light and pour the boiling soup over them.
Prepare ahead
Prepare the stock ahead of time; it should be thick enough to jell and be entirely free from grease.
Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)
Counts 7 of 8 ingredients. The other 1 aren't in our nutrition table and add nothing above, so the real totals are higher.
What these numbers assume: 7 portions
| Ingredient | Portion assumed | kcal |
|---|---|---|
| Flour | 1 cup (125g) all-purpose | 455 |
| Chicken | 100g cooked | 165 |
| Egg | 1 large egg (50g) | 78 |
| Cream | 1 tbsp (15ml) heavy | 51 |
| Tomato | 1 medium (123g) | 22 |
| Black Pepper | 1 tsp ground (2.3g) | 6 |
| Salt | 1 tsp (6g) | 0 |
| Water | not in our table | 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.
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Tomato + peppertop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together17,923 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
-
Chicken + tomatotop 8% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together6,031 recipes
Shared aroma: 3-hexenal (apple, fruity).
-
Egg + flourtop 15% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together106,462 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
-
Chicken + peppertop 16% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together19,958 recipes
Shared aroma: piperonal (bitter, coconut).
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Flour + peppertop 19% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together50,459 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
Egg and flour barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 106,462 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
- Chicken or veal stock
- Forms the savory liquid base of the soup.
- Boiled sifted rice (in the method)
- Thickens the stock to give the soup body.
- Boiling cream
- Adds richness and a smooth, silky texture.
- Eggs
- Enriches and thickens the soup when poured in as the soup is hot.
The step that matters
Pouring the boiling soup over the eggs. Eggs thicken when heated, but if the soup is poured in too quickly or the eggs are not beaten well, they can scramble into lumps. Beating the yolks very light and adding the hot soup gradually keeps the mixture smooth.
Swap the tomato
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (chicken, cream, egg, flour, pepper):
- Spinachfits better
- Capsicumfits better
- Asparagusfits better
- Tomatothe original
Fit is the average pairing score against chicken, cream, egg, flour, 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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