Ceeam of Vegetable Soup

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 + parsleytop 1% of all pairs
   Smell alikestrong
   Cooked together6,810 recipes

   Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).

2. Butter + milktop 7% of all pairs
   Smell alikemoderate
   Cooked together81,283 recipes

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

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

   Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).

4. Onion + parsleytop 9% of all pairs
   Smell alikemoderate
   Cooked together25,843 recipes

   Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).

5. Butter + flourtop 12% of all pairs
   Smell alikelow
   Cooked together124,287 recipes

   Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).

Butter and flour barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 124,287 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

Flour

Forms a roux with the butter that thickens the milk into a smooth soup.

Milk

Forms the liquid base of the soup, which the roux thickens.

Egg yolks

Enrich the soup and add richness and body when stirred in at the end.

Butter

Fat that cooks the vegetables and forms the roux with the flour.

Celery

Adds savory vegetable flavor to the soup base.

The step that matters

Swap the mace

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (butter, sauce, celery, onion, flour, milk, parsley):

1. Capersfits better
2. Thymefits better
3. Tarragonfits better
4. Macethe original

Fit is the average pairing score against butter, sauce, celery, onion, flour, milk, parsley. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.