Why it works: Turkey and butter are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 13% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 1,592 recipes. Both carry trans-2-decenal, which smells waxy, orange. The science ↓
Turkey Soup
Ingredients
Directions
Cover the turkey bones with water in a pot and cook for one hour.
Stir in a little dressing and the beaten egg.
Remove from heat and let it sit until the water stops boiling.
Add a little butter, pepper, and salt to taste.
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.
Photo for illustrative purposes only · Contact us to use it
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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Turkey + buttertop 13% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together1,592 recipes
Shared aroma: trans-2-decenal (waxy, orange).
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Turkey + peppertop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together1,636 recipes
Shared aroma: myristicin (spice, warm).
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Egg + buttertop 17% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together118,967 recipes
Shared aroma: decanal (soap, orange peel).
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Butter + peppertop 21% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together85,593 recipes
Shared aroma: trans-2-nonenal (cardboard, fatty).
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Turkey + eggtop 31% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together846 recipes
Shared aroma: decanal (soap, orange peel).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Turkey bones
- Simmering releases flavour and gelatin, giving the broth body and a rich savoury taste.
- Beaten egg
- Its proteins set when heated, thickening the broth and giving it a soft, binding texture.
- Butter
- Adds fat that carries flavour and gives the broth a rounder, smoother mouthfeel.
The step that matters
Stirring in the beaten egg. Egg proteins set quickly when they meet hot liquid, so they can form cooked shreds if added too fast or left to boil. Stirring steadily and taking the pot off the heat keeps the egg tender and evenly blended.
“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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