Name: Celery Cream Soup
Ingredients: one head white celery; two slices of onion in one pint of milk; 1 pint white stock; 1 head celery; 1 slice ham; 1 sprig of parsley; one pint of milk; three tablespoonsful of whipped cream; 1 small onion; 1 yolk of egg soup; 1 blade of mace; 3 white pepper coins

Why it works: Celery and parsley match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 6,810 recipes. Both carry 4'-methylacetophenone, which smells bitter almond. The science ↓

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 + parsleytop 1% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together6,810 recipes

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

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together18,518 recipes

Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).
Onion + parsleytop 9% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together25,843 recipes

Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).
Parsley + macetop 15% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together4,268 recipes

Shared aroma: myristicin (spice, warm).
Onion + macetop 17% of all pairs

Smell alikelow

Cooked together7,078 recipes

Shared aroma: eugenol (clove, spicy).

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

What each ingredient does

Celery: Provides the main flavour and body of the soup once simmered and pressed through the sieve.
Milk: Adds richness and a creamy base for the soup.
Flour (in the method): Thickens the soup into a smooth white sauce base.
Egg yolk: Enriches the soup and adds body as it is stirred into the heated soup.
Whipped cream: Adds richness and a light, smooth finish at the end.

The step that matters

Adding the egg yolk. Stirring the beaten yolk gradually into hot soup, rather than adding it all at once, helps it blend smoothly. If the soup is too hot or added too quickly, the yolk can curdle into small lumps.

Swap the mace

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (celery, onion, milk, ham, parsley, cream, egg):

Tarragonfits better
Nutmegfits better
Thymefits better
Macethe original

Fit is the average pairing score against celery, onion, milk, ham, parsley, cream, egg. 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.

Ingredient	Portion assumed	kcal
Pork	100g cooked	242
Milk	1 cup (244ml) whole	149
Egg	1 large egg (50g)	78
Cream	1 tbsp (15ml) heavy	51
Onion	1 medium (110g)	44
Celery	1 stalk (40g)	6
Black Pepper	1 tsp ground (2.3g)	6
Parsley	1 tbsp chopped fresh (3.8g)	1
Soup	not in our table	0
Mace	not in our table	0

Celery Cream Soup