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Russian Soup

A hearty soup made with brown soup base, ham, sausages, cabbage, onions, and seasoned with butter, flour, stock, wine, and herbs.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 13 ingredients
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Why it works: Cabbage and pepper are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 5% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 4,081 recipes. Both carry 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine, which smells earthy, pea. The science ↓

Russian Soup

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare the soup base

  1. In a tureen, pour the brown soup over the shredded ham and drained sausages.

Cook the vegetables

  1. In a pan, sauté the chopped onions and shredded cabbage in butter until lightly browned.

  2. Sprinkle flour over the vegetables and moisten with stock.

Simmer and finish

  1. Season with pepper, salt, and nutmeg, then bring to a boil.

  2. Reduce heat and simmer for at least 30 minutes, skimming off any scum.

  3. Stir in the wine and tarragon or chervil before serving.

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.

  1. Cabbage + peppertop 5% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together4,081 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).

  2. Pepper + nutmegtop 7% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together13,015 recipes

    Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).

  3. Onion + cabbagetop 7% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together3,001 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).

  4. Flour + nutmegtop 8% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together18,623 recipes

    Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).

  5. Onion + peppertop 11% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together68,474 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).

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

What each ingredient does

Butter
Enriches the flavor and helps the onions and cabbage brown lightly.
Flour
Thickens the stock into a richer, more body-filled broth.
Cabbage
Adds bulk and a mild, sweet vegetable flavor as it softens.
Onions
Build savory sweetness as they brown in the butter.
Light wine
Adds acidity and brightness to balance the rich soup.

The step that matters

Skimming during the simmer. Simmering draws scum and impurities to the surface. Skimming them off keeps the broth clear and clean-tasting over the long cook.

Swap the cabbage

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (ham, onion, butter, flour, pepper, nutmeg, wine):

  1. Shallotfits better
  2. Chivefits better
  3. Potatofits better
  4. Cabbagethe original

Fit is the average pairing score against ham, onion, butter, flour, pepper, nutmeg, wine. 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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