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How We Cook in Tennessee

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
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Why it works: Mustard and celery are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 2% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 4,169 recipes. Both carry guaiacol, which smells smoky, sweet. The science ↓

How We Cook in Tennessee

Ingredients

Directions

  1. mustard, half salt spoon of red pepper, one of black pepper, half spoonful of sugar, one of salt. Stir till mixed; pour in oil drop by drop till thick so you can cut, then about half tea- spoon of vinegar to thin it, then oil again drop by drop till thick, then half spoon of vinegar. After having used vinegar twice, alternate the olive oil with lemon juice, thinning with lemon juice and thickening it with the olive oil, each several times. — Miss Patty Crook.

  2. Shrimp Salad Dressing. — Two eggs, one wineglass oil to each egg, quarter teacup cream, half saltspoon salt to each egg,, half teaspoon mustard, half lemon to each egg, capers to taste. In mixing, beat oil into eggs, a drop at a time; then lemon, cream and salt ; lastly the capers. Pour over salad, using salt. Garnish with slices of lemon and whole shrimp.

  3. Dressing for Slaw. — Two-thirds cup vinegar, two-thirds cup cream, butter size walnut, one tablespoon mixed mustard, one tablespoon celery seed, pepper and salt to taste. Boil until thick and when cold pour over chopped cabbage.

  4. Dressing for Slaw. — One teacup vinegar, one egg, three table- spoons sugar, one teaspoon each of mustard and salt, butter size of egg. Mix well and boil.

  5. Dressing for Lettuce. — Half glass vinegar, tablespoon sugar, half teaspoon salt, half teaspoon mustard. Put on the fire and let come to a boil, pour on to two eggs beaten separately; take off at once.

  6. Dressing for Lettuce. — Half cup good vinegar, two table- spoons sugar, yolks two hard boiled eggs mashed to a paste with one teaspoon butter and half teaspoon mustard, two-thirds teaspoon salt. Mix together and pour over shredded lettuce just before it is to be served. — Mrs. H. R. Lancaster.

  7. Mayonnaise Dressing. — Yolks of four eggs, half teacup of melted butter, one teaspoon of dry mustard, half teaspoon of salt, mix salt and mustard in a half cup of vinegar, three- quarters of cup of cream, two teaspoons of sugar. Beat eggs

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

437Calories
8 gProtein
37 gFat
22 gCarbs
What these numbers assume: 12 portions
IngredientPortion assumedkcal
Olive Oil1 tbsp (14g)119
Butter1 tbsp (14g)102
Egg1 large egg (50g)78
Cream1 tbsp (15ml) heavy51
Sugar1 tbsp (12.5g) granulated49
Lemonjuice of 1 lemon (48ml)12
Chili1 tsp (2.7g)8
Celery Seed1 stalk (40g)6
Black Pepper1 tsp ground (2.3g)6
Mustard1 tsp (5g) yellow3
Vinegar1 tbsp (15ml) distilled3
Salt1 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 Jackson (Tenn.). First Baptist Church. The Silver Thimble Society. 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. Mustard + celerytop 2% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together4,169 recipes

    Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).

  2. Celery + peppertop 5% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together16,012 recipes

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

  3. Mustard + vinegartop 7% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together14,067 recipes

    Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).

  4. Cream + buttertop 8% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together41,516 recipes

    Shared aroma: delta-dodecalactone (sweet, creamy).

  5. Mustard + peppertop 9% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together15,430 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).

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

Swap the celery

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (sugar, egg, mustard, vinegar, cream, butter, pepper):

  1. Tarragonfits better
  2. Nutmegfits better
  3. Capersfits better
  4. Celerythe original

Fit is the average pairing score against sugar, egg, mustard, vinegar, cream, butter, pepper. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.

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