Why it works: Butter and cream are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 8% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 41,516 recipes. Both carry delta-dodecalactone, which smells sweet, creamy. The science ↓
Mock Clam Soup
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare the beans
Soak a pint of marrowfat beans overnight in water enough to cover them.
Drain the beans.
Make the soup
Put the beans on the fire with a small onion and a gallon of cold water.
Boil until tender and strain.
Add a little summer savory, two ounces of butter, and a cup of cream or rich milk to the stock.
Season with salt and pepper.
Serve
When the soup comes to a boil, cut two slices of toast into dice.
Slice four hard-boiled eggs.
Put the toast cubes and sliced eggs in the tureen.
Pour the soup over them and serve.
Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)
Counts 5 of 7 ingredients. The other 2 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Butter | 1 tbsp (14g) | 102 |
| Egg | 1 large egg (50g) | 78 |
| Cream | 1 tbsp (15ml) heavy | 51 |
| Black Pepper | 1 tsp ground (2.3g) | 6 |
| Salt | 1 tsp (6g) | 0 |
| Bean | not in our table | 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.
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.
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Butter + creamtop 8% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together41,516 recipes
Shared aroma: delta-dodecalactone (sweet, creamy).
-
Beans + peppertop 11% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together4,733 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
-
Butter + eggtop 17% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together118,967 recipes
Shared aroma: decanal (soap, orange peel).
-
Butter + beanstop 19% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together2,799 recipes
Shared aroma: trans-2-nonenal (cardboard, fatty).
-
Butter + peppertop 21% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together85,593 recipes
Shared aroma: trans-2-nonenal (cardboard, fatty).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Marrowfat beans
- Soaking and long boiling soften the beans so they break down into a thick, smooth soup.
- Butter
- Adds richness and a silky mouthfeel to the finished soup.
- Cream
- Adds richness and body, softening the flavour of the stock.
- Toast
- Dry bread cubes soak up hot soup while keeping some crunch and texture.
- Hard-boiled eggs
- Add protein-rich body and a mild, creamy contrast to the soup.
The step that matters
Boil until tender and strain. The beans must be fully softened before straining; undercooked beans stay grainy and will not pass through the strainer to give a smooth soup.
Swap the beans
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (butter, cream, egg, pepper):
- Almondfits better
- Walnutfits better
- Pistachiofits about as well
- Beansthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against butter, cream, 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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