Mushrooms, Stewed

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. Mushroom + buttertop 7% of all pairs
   Smell alikemoderate
   Cooked together12,525 recipes

   Shared aroma: trans-2-decenal (waxy, orange).

2. Cream + buttertop 8% of all pairs
   Smell alikemoderate
   Cooked together41,516 recipes

   Shared aroma: delta-dodecalactone (sweet, creamy).

3. Butter + flourtop 12% of all pairs
   Smell alikelow
   Cooked together124,287 recipes

   Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).

4. Mushroom + creamtop 15% of all pairs
   Smell alikelow
   Cooked together4,500 recipes

   Shared aroma: 1-octen-3-one (mushroom, metallic).

5. Mushroom + flourtop 18% of all pairs
   Smell alikemoderate
   Cooked together8,253 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

Fresh mushrooms

Form the main body of the dish and release savory, earthy flavor as they cook.

Heavy cream

Adds richness and a smooth, silky texture to the finished stew.

Butter

Adds fat for a rounder mouthfeel and a rich, buttery flavor.

All-purpose flour

Thickens the cooking liquid into a body-rich sauce as its starch gelatinizes with heat.

The step that matters