Name: Leek and Pilchard Pie
Ingredients: large leeks; milk; water; salted pilchards; plain pie crust; ½ pint scalded cream

Why it works: Milk and cream are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 18% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 29,399 recipes. Both carry delta-dodecalactone, which smells sweet, creamy. The science ↓

Leek and Pilchard Pie

Oven, in the book's wordsA moderate oven

Ingredients

Directions

The book says “a moderate oven”. The 350°F (175°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.

Clean and slice the white part of the leeks.
Scald the leeks in a mixture of milk and water.
Soak the salted pilchards for several hours the day before.
Layer the pilchards and leeks alternately in a pie dish.
Cover with a plain pie crust.
Bake in a moderate oven at 350°F (175°C) until brown.
Remove the side crust with a knife and drain the liquid.
Pour in ½ pint of scalded cream and serve.

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.

Milk + creamtop 18% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together29,399 recipes

Shared aroma: delta-dodecalactone (sweet, creamy).
Leek + creamtop 18% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together158 recipes

Shared aroma: 2-nonanone (fruity, floral).
Leek + milktop 19% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together200 recipes

Shared aroma: ethyl butyrate (apple, fruity).