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Soup

Salsify Soup

A cream soup made from salsify, onions and broth, finished with milk and cream.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
By Martin, Maria Ewing, Mrs., [from old catalog] comp · From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 13 ingredients
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Why it works: Parsley and pepper match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 2% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 34,122 recipes. Both carry 4'-methylacetophenone, which smells bitter almond. The science ↓

Salsify Soup

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare the salsify

  1. Trim, scrape and wash 2 bunches salsify.

  2. Drain and slice very fine.

  3. Fry in a saucepan with 1 tablespoon butter until tender.

  4. Add 2 tablespoons flour and mix well while heating through.

Make the soup

  1. Add 2 quarts broth or water, 2 finely sliced onions and leeks (each), and 1 branch parsley.

  2. Season with 1 teaspoon salt, half as much pepper, and 1 saltspoon nutmeg.

  3. Cover and let boil slowly 1 hour.

  4. Press through a sieve and again through a strainer back into the saucepan.

  5. Add ½ tablespoon butter, 1 pint milk and ½ pint cream.

  6. Stir constantly while boiling 5 minutes.

Serve

  1. Serve in a hot tureen with croutons.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

769Calories
23 gProtein
22 gFat
120 gCarbs

Counts 8 of 9 ingredients. The other 1 aren't in our nutrition table and add nothing above, so the real totals are higher.

What these numbers assume: 8 portions
IngredientPortion assumedkcal
Flour1 cup (125g) all-purpose455
Milk1 cup (244ml) whole149
Butter1 tbsp (14g)102
Onion1 medium (110g)44
Nutmeg1 tsp ground (2.2g)12
Black Pepper1 tsp ground (2.3g)6
Parsley1 tbsp chopped fresh (3.8g)1
Salt1 tsp (6g)0
Salsifynot 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 Martin, Maria Ewing, Mrs., [from old catalog] comp. 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. Parsley + peppertop 2% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together34,122 recipes

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

  2. Parsley + nutmegtop 3% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together5,062 recipes

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

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

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

  4. Nutmeg + peppertop 7% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together13,015 recipes

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

  5. Flour + nutmegtop 8% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together18,623 recipes

    Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).

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

What each ingredient does

Salsify
Forms the main body of the soup, giving its vegetable flavour and texture.
Flour
Thickens the soup as it cooks with the butter and salsify.
Butter
Adds richness and carries flavour when the salsify is fried.
Milk
Adds creaminess and softens the body of the soup at the end.
Broth
Forms the liquid base that the vegetables simmer in.

The step that matters

Stir constantly while boiling 5 minutes. Once milk and cream are added, the mixture can scorch on the base of the pan or curdle if left unattended. Constant stirring keeps it smooth and evenly heated.

Swap the onion

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (butter, flour, milk, parsley, nutmeg, pepper):

  1. Shallotfits better
  2. Parsnipfits better
  3. Carrotfits better
  4. Onionthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against butter, flour, milk, parsley, nutmeg, 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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