Why it works: Egg and flour are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 15% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 106,462 recipes. Both carry isobutyraldehyde, which smells malty, green. The science ↓
Thickening for Potato Soup
Ingredients
Directions
Thicken the soup
Blend flour and cold water.
Add the mixture to boiling potato soup and boil until thickened.
Add the egg yolks
Beat the yolks of two eggs.
Slowly pour the beaten yolks into the hot soup while stirring, do not boil.
Serve
Serve immediately.
(Optional) Add whipped cream just before serving.
Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)
Counts 2 of 3 ingredients. The other 1 aren't in our nutrition table and add nothing above, so the real totals are higher.
What these numbers assume: 2 portions
| Ingredient | Portion assumed | kcal |
|---|---|---|
| Flour | 1 cup (125g) all-purpose | 455 |
| Egg | 1 large egg (50g) | 78 |
| 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.
-
Egg + flourtop 15% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together106,462 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
Egg and flour barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 106,462 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
- Flour
- Starch swells in hot liquid and thickens the soup as it boils.
- Egg yolks
- Proteins set gently when heated, adding body and a richer texture to the soup.
The step that matters
Adding the beaten yolks to the hot soup. Egg yolk proteins thicken by gentle coagulation. If the soup boils after the yolks go in, the proteins tighten too much and can curdle, leaving a grainy texture. Stir constantly while pouring slowly so the yolks disperse evenly.
“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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