Name: Stuffed Egg Plant
Ingredients: 1 eggplant; 2 cups grated bread; 1 egg; 2 tablespoons butter

Why it works: Bread and butter are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 7% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 27,232 recipes. Both carry delta-decalactone, which smells sweet, creamy. The science ↓

Stuffed Egg Plant

Ingredients

1 eggplant
2 cups grated bread
1 egg
2 tablespoons butter

Directions

Prepare

Boil the eggplant in water for 10 minutes. Let it cool.

Stuff and serve

In a bowl, mix the grated bread, egg, and butter together.
Stuff the mixture into the cooled eggplant.

Recipe from a historical cookbook (Internet Archive).

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.

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.

Bread + buttertop 7% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together27,232 recipes

Shared aroma: delta-decalactone (sweet, creamy).
Bread + eggtop 13% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together22,662 recipes

Shared aroma: (e)-2-octenal (fatty, green).
Eggplant + breadtop 16% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together265 recipes

Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).
Egg + buttertop 17% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together118,967 recipes

Shared aroma: decanal (soap, orange peel).
Eggplant + buttertop 26% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together507 recipes

Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

Eggplant: Forms the hollow vessel that holds the filling and becomes soft and tender when boiled.
Grated bread: Provides bulk and absorbs moisture, giving the filling body.
Egg: Binds the filling together so it holds its shape.
Butter: Adds fat and richness, contributing moisture and flavor to the filling.