Name: False Terrapin
Ingredients: a cupful of cream; one inch square; four chopped hard-boiled eggs; salt; pepper; cayenne

Why it works: Cream and pepper are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 23% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 21,449 recipes. Both carry acetic acid, which smells sour, vinegar. The science ↓

False Terrapin

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare the stew

Cut the boiled calf's head (see page 175) into one-inch square pieces; break the boiled brains into pieces.
Make a brown roux.
Add to the roux water in which the calf's head was boiled, in the same proportion as for white sauce.
Season with salt, pepper, and cayenne, and add a cupful of cream.
Add the pieces of meat, three or four chopped hard-boiled eggs, a few small egg balls, and a glass of sherry.

Serve

Serve very hot; there should be a half more sauce than meat.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

141Calories

7 gProtein

11 gFat

4 gCarbs

What these numbers assume: 5 portions

Ingredient	Portion assumed	kcal
Egg	1 large egg (50g)	78
Cream	1 tbsp (15ml) heavy	51
Black Pepper	1 tsp ground (2.3g)	6
Cayenne	1 tsp (1.8g)	6
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.

By Mary Ronald. Recipe from a historical cookbook (Project Gutenberg).

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.

Cream + peppertop 23% of all pairs

Smell alikelow

Cooked together21,449 recipes

Shared aroma: acetic acid (sour, vinegar).
Cream + eggtop 24% of all pairs

Smell alikelow

Cooked together42,166 recipes

Shared aroma: acetic acid (sour, vinegar).
Egg + peppertop 33% of all pairs

Smell alikelow

Cooked together50,580 recipes

Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).

Cream and pepper barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 21,449 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

Roux (in the method): Browned flour and fat thicken the liquid into a sauce and add a toasty flavour.
Cream: Adds richness and body to the sauce, softening its flavour and texture.
Hard-boiled eggs: Chopped eggs add soft, creamy texture and body to the stew.

“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.