Why it works: Lemon and clove match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 10% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 8,150 recipes. Both carry eucalyptol, which smells eucalyptus, herbal. The science ↓
Mushrooms for Winter Use
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare
Wash and wipe free from grit the small fresh button mushrooms.
Put into a frying pan a quarter of a pound of the very best butter.
Add to it two whole cloves, a teaspoonful of salt and a tablespoonful of lemon juice.
When hot add a quarter of the small mushrooms.
Toss them about in the butter for a moment only.
Jar and store
Then put them in jars.
Fill the top of each jar with an inch or two of the butter and let it cool.
Keep the jars in a cool place.
When the butter is quite firm add a top layer of salt.
Cover to keep out dust.
Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)
What these numbers assume: 3 portions
| Ingredient | Portion assumed | kcal |
|---|---|---|
| Lemon | juice of 1 lemon (48ml) | 12 |
| Clove | 1 tsp ground (2g) | 7 |
| Salt | 1 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.
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.
-
Lemon + clovetop 10% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together8,150 recipes
Shared aroma: eucalyptol (eucalyptus, herbal).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Butter (in the method)
- Forms the rich fat base that carries the flavour and seals the mushrooms in the jars.
- Button mushrooms (in the method)
- Supply the main flavour and texture of the butter.
- Lemon juice
- Adds acidity that brightens the rich butter and mushroom flavour.
The step that matters
Toss the mushrooms briefly in the butter. Mushrooms exposed to heat for too long release their water and turn soggy and dull, so they should only be tossed for a moment before jarring.
“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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