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The Dewey Cook Book

A creamy potato and onion soup served with crackers.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
By Young Men's Christian Association (Montpelier, Vt.). Women of the Auxiliary · From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 14 ingredients
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Why it works: Potato and onion are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 3% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 9,023 recipes. Both carry 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine, which smells earthy, pea. The science ↓

The Dewey Cook Book

four persons

Ingredients

Directions

Make the soup

  1. Boil the potatoes and onions together until soft.

  2. Add the milk and salt.

  3. Boil until the mixture becomes a cream.

  4. Strain the soup.

Serve

  1. Serve with crackers.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

995Calories
33 gProtein
26 gFat
156 gCarbs
What these numbers assume: 8 portions
IngredientPortion assumedkcal
Flour1 cup (125g) all-purpose455
Potato1 medium (173g) baked161
Milk1 cup (244ml) whole149
Butter1 tbsp (14g)102
Egg1 large egg (50g)78
Onion1 medium (110g)44
Black Pepper1 tsp ground (2.3g)6
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 Young Men's Christian Association (Montpelier, Vt.). Women of the Auxiliary. 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. Potato + oniontop 3% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together9,023 recipes

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

  2. Milk + buttertop 7% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together81,283 recipes

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

  3. Potato + peppertop 9% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together8,305 recipes

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

  4. Milk + potatotop 9% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together3,611 recipes

    Shared aroma: (e,z)-2,6-nonadienal (cucumber, melon).

  5. Onion + peppertop 11% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together68,474 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

What each ingredient does

Potatoes
Their starch breaks down as they cook soft, thickening the soup and giving it body.
Milk
Forms the creamy base of the soup and adds richness and smoothness.
Onions
Provide the aromatic base flavour of the soup.

The step that matters

Boil until the mixture becomes a cream. Milk scorches on the bottom of the pan and can separate or curdle if it boils too hard. Stirring constantly and keeping the heat moderate keeps the cream smooth and prevents a burnt taste.

Swap the onion

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (milk, butter, potato, egg, pepper):

  1. Capsicumfits better
  2. Asparagusfits better
  3. Chivefits better
  4. Onionthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against milk, butter, potato, egg, 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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