Why it works: Egg and pepper are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 33% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 50,580 recipes. Both carry 2-nonenal, which smells fatty, green. The science ↓
Asparagus on Toast
Ingredients
Directions
Mrs. C. M, Rathbun.
Wash the asparagus and cut off the tough ends. Soak in cold water ^ hour. Now tie it in small bundles and put into kettle of boiling water, and boil 20 minutes; add i teaspoonful of salt and boil 10 minutes longer. While the asparagus is cooking, boil 2 eggs hard. Toast squares of bread; butter while hot, and lay on a hot platter. Carefully drain the asparagus and lay it on toast, heads all one way. Put i tablespoonful of butter to melt, adding i tablespoonful of flour; mix until smooth; add y^ pint water in which asparagus was boiled; stir constantly until it boils. Season with salt and pepper to taste, and pour over the asparagus and sliced eggs. If liked, a little vinegar may be added to the sauce, and is a great improvement.
Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)
What these numbers assume: 3 portions
| Ingredient | Portion assumed | kcal |
|---|---|---|
| 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.
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.
-
Egg + peppertop 33% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked 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
More asparagus on toast recipes
You might also like
Tomato Soup526 recipes
Brown Bread461 recipes
Mutton Broth292 recipes
Yorkshire Pudding264 recipesThe free Flavor Lab newsletter: one surprising pairing a week and the molecular reason it works, in 60 seconds. No spam, unsubscribe anytime.
Prefer an account? Create a free account to save pairings and unlock the full chemistry.