Name: Scalloped Squash
Ingredients: three tablespoonfuls of milk; two eggs; pepper; salt

Why it works: Milk and egg are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 18% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 88,785 recipes. Both carry 2-nonenal, which smells fatty, green. The science ↓

Scalloped Squash

Ingredients

three tablespoonfuls of milk
two eggs
pepper
salt

Directions

Prepare the squash

Boil and mash the squash in the customary way and let it cool.

Make the filling

Beat the yolks of two eggs.
When the squash is nearly cold, whip the eggs into it, with three tablespoonfuls of milk, one of butter rolled in flour and melted into the milk.
Pepper and salt to taste.

Bake and serve

Pour into a buttered bake-dish, cover with fine crumbs, and bake to a light brown in a quick oven.
Serve hot.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

233Calories

14 gProtein

13 gFat

14 gCarbs

What these numbers assume: 4 portions

Ingredient	Portion assumed	kcal
Milk	1 cup (244ml) whole	149
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 Goff, May Perrin, [from old catalog] ed. 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.

Milk + eggtop 18% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together88,785 recipes

Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
Milk + peppertop 22% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together26,984 recipes

Shared aroma: ethyl 2-methylbutyrate (fruity, apple).
Egg + peppertop 33% of all pairs

Smell alikelow

Cooked together50,580 recipes

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

Egg and pepper barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 50,580 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

Eggs: Bind the mashed squash and help it set into a soft, sliceable custard when baked.
Milk: Adds moisture and loosens the squash so the mixture bakes creamy rather than dry.
Butter (in the method): Adds richness and fat, and flour melted into it helps thicken the filling.

“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.