Why it works: Pepper and parsley match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 2% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 34,122 recipes. Both carry 4'-methylacetophenone, which smells bitter almond. The science ↓
Eggs À LA Goldenrod
Ingredients
Directions
Make the sauce
Make a thin white sauce with butter, flour, milk, and seasonings.
Separate yolks from whites of eggs.
Chop whites finely, and add them to the sauce.
Assemble and serve
Cut four slices of toast in halves lengthwise.
Arrange on platter, and pour over the sauce.
Force the yolks through a potato ricer or strainer, sprinkling over the top.
Garnish with parsley and remaining toast, cut in points.
Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)
What these numbers assume: 7 portions
| Ingredient | Portion assumed | kcal |
|---|---|---|
| Flour | 1 cup (125g) all-purpose | 455 |
| Milk | 1 cup (244ml) whole | 149 |
| Butter | 1 tbsp (14g) | 102 |
| Egg | 1 large egg (50g) | 78 |
| Black Pepper | 1 tsp ground (2.3g) | 6 |
| Parsley | 1 tbsp chopped fresh (3.8g) | 1 |
| 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.
-
Pepper + parsleytop 2% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together34,122 recipes
Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).
-
Butter + milktop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together81,283 recipes
Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).
-
Butter + flourtop 12% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together124,287 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
-
Flour + parsleytop 12% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together16,675 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
-
Flour + milktop 14% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together78,219 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
Butter and flour barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 124,287 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
- Eggs
- Whites add body and chopped texture to the sauce, while sieved yolks give a crumbly, golden topping.
- Butter
- Fat that combines with flour to form the roux base for the white sauce.
- Flour
- Starch that thickens the butter and milk into a smooth white sauce.
- Milk
- Liquid that forms the body of the white sauce and carries its flavor.
- Toast
- Crisp base that holds the sauce and gives a dry, toasted contrast.
The step that matters
Force the yolks through a potato ricer or strainer. Pressing cooked yolks through a fine sieve breaks them into fine, even crumbs. Chunky or pressed-too-hard yolks clump or turn pasty, so the topping looks uneven.
Swap the parsley
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (egg, butter, flour, milk, pepper):
- Nutmegfits about as well
- Cinnamonfits about as well
- Parsleythe original
- Cardamomfits about as well
Fit is the average pairing score against egg, butter, flour, milk, 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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