Why it works: Milk and butter are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 7% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 81,283 recipes. Both carry (z)-4-heptenal, which smells biscuit, cream. The science ↓
Asparagus Rolls
Ingredients
Directions
The book says “a slow oven”. The 300°F (150°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.
Prepare the rolls
Cut off the tops of each roll and carefully remove the crumbs.
Place the hollowed rolls and their tops in a 300°F (150°C) oven to dry until crisp.
Make the asparagus filling
Boil the asparagus for 20 minutes, then cut off the green tops and let them cool completely.
Heat the milk and stir in the butter.
Pour the heated milk mixture over the beaten egg yolks and whisk for one minute.
Return the mixture to the heat.
Add the minced asparagus tops (reserve whole tops for garnish).
Stir until hot but do not boil.
Assemble and serve
Fill each roll with the mixture, creating a small hole in the top of each crust.
Place a whole asparagus top in each hole to resemble a sprout.
Cover with the roll tops.
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.
-
Milk + buttertop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together81,283 recipes
Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).
-
Asparagus + peppertop 10% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together1,968 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
-
Butter + flourtop 12% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together124,287 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
-
Asparagus + flourtop 12% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together936 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
-
Milk + flourtop 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
- Egg yolks
- Thicken the milk mixture into a rich, smooth custard when gently heated.
- Milk
- Forms the liquid base of the custard, carrying the egg yolks and butter.
- Butter
- Adds richness and a smooth, silky mouthfeel to the filling.
- Asparagus
- Provides the main vegetable flavor and the minced texture of the filling.
- Stale french rolls
- Form the hollow edible containers; dry, stale bread holds its shape when filled and dried.
The step that matters
Stir until hot but do not boil. Egg yolks thicken gently with heat, but boiling can curdle them into a grainy texture, so the mixture must be heated slowly and stirred constantly.
Swap the asparagus
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (egg, milk, butter, flour, pepper):
- Capsicumfits about as well
- Potatofits about as well
- Asparagusthe original
- Chivefits about as well
Fit is the average pairing score against egg, milk, butter, flour, 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.
You might also like
Asparagus Soup179 recipes
Asparagus Salad77 recipes
Cream of Asparagus38 recipes
Boiled Asparagus27 recipesThe free Flavor Lab newsletter: one surprising pairing a week and the molecular reason it works, in 60 seconds. No spam, unsubscribe anytime.
Prefer an account? Create a free account to save pairings and unlock the full chemistry.