Why it works: Cream and mace are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 18% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 4,009 recipes. The science ↓
Stewed Mushrooms
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare the mushrooms
Choose button mushrooms of uniform size.
Wipe them clean and white with a wet flannel.
Place the mushrooms in a stewpan with a little water.
Let them stew very gently for a quarter of an hour.
Thicken and finish
Add salt to taste.
Work in a little flour and butter to thicken the liquor to about the consistency of cream.
Let the mixture boil for five minutes.
Stir in two tablespoonfuls of cream or the yolk of one egg.
Stir over the fire for a minute, but do not let it boil.
Serve.
Alternative method
Alternatively, stew the mushrooms in milk and water after rubbing them white, add a little veal gravy, mace, and salt, and thicken with cream or egg yolks.
Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)
Counts 3 of 4 ingredients. The other 1 aren't in our nutrition table and add nothing above, so the real totals are higher.
What these numbers assume: 3 portions
| Ingredient | Portion assumed | kcal |
|---|---|---|
| Egg | 1 large egg (50g) | 78 |
| Cream | 1 tbsp (15ml) heavy | 51 |
| Salt | 1 tsp (6g) | 0 |
| Mace | 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.
-
Cream + macetop 18% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together4,009 recipes
-
Cream + eggtop 24% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together42,166 recipes
Shared aroma: acetic acid (sour, vinegar).
-
Egg + macetop 35% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together7,587 recipes
Cream and egg barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 42,166 recipes: they work on texture and structure more than aroma.
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Mushrooms (in the method)
- Form the main body of the dish and release their liquor as they stew.
- Cream
- Adds richness and a smooth, silky texture to the thickened liquor.
- Egg yolk
- Thickens the sauce gently and gives it a rich, smooth body.
- Flour (in the method)
- Thickens the cooking liquor so it clings to the mushrooms.
- Butter (in the method)
- Adds fat and richness and helps bind the flour into the thickened liquor.
The step that matters
Stir in the cream or egg yolk off the boil. Egg yolk thickens by gentle heat and curdles or scrambles if it boils, leaving a grainy sauce. Keeping the mixture below boiling after adding it keeps it smooth and silky.
Swap the mace
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (cream, egg):
- Nutmegfits better
- Tarragonfits better
- White pepperfits better
- Macethe original
Fit is the average pairing score against 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.
More stewed mushrooms recipes
You might also like
Tomato Soup526 recipes
Brown Bread461 recipes
Mutton Broth292 recipes
Yorkshire Pudding264 recipesThe free Flavor Lab newsletter: one surprising pairing a week and the molecular reason it works, in 60 seconds. No spam, unsubscribe anytime.
Prefer an account? Create a free account to save pairings and unlock the full chemistry.