Why it works: Celery and turnip are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 2% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 4,418 recipes. Both carry coumarin, which smells sweet, hay. The science ↓
Oatmeal Soup
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare
Add 6 oz. of coarse oatmeal, the outer part of a head of celery, 1 Spanish onion, 1 turnip, 1 oz. of butter, pepper and salt.
Wash and cut the vegetables small.
Set them over the fire with 2 quarts of water.
Cook
When boiling, stir in the oatmeal and allow all to cook gently for 2 hours.
Finish and serve
Rub the mixture well through a sieve, adding hot water if necessary.
Return the soup to the saucepan, add the butter and pepper and salt, and let it boil up.
Serve with sippets of toast or Allinson plain rusks.
Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Onion | 1 medium (110g) | 44 |
| Turnip | 1 medium (122g) | 34 |
| Celery | 1 stalk (40g) | 6 |
| Black Pepper | 1 tsp ground (2.3g) | 6 |
| Salt | 1 tsp (6g) | 0 |
| Water | 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.
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.
Photo for illustrative purposes only · Contact us to use it
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 + turniptop 2% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together4,418 recipes
Shared aroma: coumarin (sweet, hay).
-
Celery + peppertop 5% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together16,012 recipes
Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).
-
Onion + turniptop 5% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together7,585 recipes
Shared aroma: coumarin (sweet, hay).
-
Celery + oniontop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together18,518 recipes
Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).
-
Turnip + peppertop 10% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together5,252 recipes
Shared aroma: coumarin (sweet, hay).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Oatmeal (in the method)
- Thickens the soup as its starch swells and softens during long simmering.
- Spanish onion
- Adds aroma and gentle sweetness as it softens in the simmering liquid.
- Turnip
- Contributes body and mild sweetness as it breaks down into the soup.
- Butter (in the method)
- Adds fat for richness and a smoother mouthfeel in the finished soup.
The step that matters
Stirring the oatmeal into boiling water and simmering gently. Adding oatmeal to boiling liquid and stirring it in helps prevent lumps. A gentle simmer lets the starch hydrate and thicken evenly while reducing the chance of scorching on the base of the pan.
Swap the onion
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (celery, turnip, pepper):
- Carrotfits better
- Parsnipfits better
- Leekfits better
- Onionthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against celery, turnip, 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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