Name: Spanish Celery Soup
Ingredients: 2 quarts soups; 2 ounces raw rice; 1 teaspoon salt; 1 inch pieces 2 whole stalks celery; 2 whole stalks celery; 1 finely chopped green pepper; 49 broth; 2 peeled; 3 saltspooils pepper

Why it works: Celery and pepper match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 5% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 16,012 recipes. Both carry 4'-methylacetophenone, which smells bitter almond. The science ↓

Spanish Celery Soup

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare and steam

Clean and cut 2 whole stalks celery into 1 inch pieces.
Put the celery in a saucepan with 1 finely chopped green pepper and butter.
Cover and let steam 10 minutes.

Simmer the soup

Add 2 quarts broth, 2 ounces raw rice, 2 peeled and finely chopped tomatoes, 1 teaspoon salt and 3 saltspoons pepper, then mix and let boil slowly 45 minutes.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

249Calories

6 gProtein

1 gFat

54 gCarbs

Counts 5 of 6 ingredients. The other 1 aren't in our nutrition table and add nothing above, so the real totals are higher.

What these numbers assume: 5 portions

Ingredient	Portion assumed	kcal
Rice	1 cup cooked (158g) white	206
Bell Pepper	1 medium (119g)	31
Celery	1 stalk (40g)	6
Black Pepper	1 tsp ground (2.3g)	6
Salt	1 tsp (6g)	0
Soup	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.

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.

Celery + peppertop 5% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together16,012 recipes

Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).
Rice + celerytop 7% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together2,169 recipes

Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).
Rice + peppertop 12% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together8,379 recipes

Shared aroma: trans-2-nonenal (cardboard, fatty).

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

What each ingredient does

Celery: Provides the main aromatic flavor base of the soup.
Raw rice: Releases starch as it cooks, thickening the soup and giving it body.
Broth: Forms the liquid base that carries the flavors and cooks the rice.
Green pepper: Adds a fresh, slightly bitter vegetable flavor as it softens.
Tomatoes (in the method): Adds acidity and color, rounding out the savory flavor.