Why it works: Cauliflower and parsnip work together. They rank in the top 8% of all ingredient pairs, and 27 recipes mention both. Both carry coumarin, which smells sweet, hay. The science ↓
The recipe
Ingredients
Directions
Cover potatoes with boiling water and add ½ tablespoon coarse sea salt.
Boil for 10 minutes, then leave in a cooker for 2 hours or longer.
Cover asparagus with boiling water and add 1 teaspoon coarse sea salt.
Boil for 5 minutes, then leave in a cooker for 2 hours or longer.
Cover cauliflower with boiling water and add 1 teaspoon coarse sea salt.
Boil for 10 minutes, then leave in a cooker for 2 hours or longer.
Cover corn with boiling water and add ½ tablespoon coarse sea salt.
Boil for 5 minutes, then leave in a cooker for 2 hours or longer.
Cover carrots with boiling water and add 1 teaspoon coarse sea salt.
Boil for 10 minutes, then leave in a cooker for 1 hour or longer.
Cover beets with boiling water and add 1 teaspoon coarse sea salt.
Boil for 10 minutes, then leave in a cooker for 2 hours or longer.
Cover cabbage with boiling water and add 1 teaspoon coarse sea salt.
Boil for 10 minutes, then leave in a cooker for 3 hours or longer.
Cover turnips with boiling water and add 1 teaspoon coarse sea salt.
Boil for 10 minutes, then leave in a cooker for 2 hours or longer.
Cover parsnips with boiling water and add 1 teaspoon coarse sea salt.
Boil for 10 minutes, then leave in a cooker for 2 hours or longer.
Cover sweet potatoes with boiling water and add ½ tablespoon coarse sea salt.
Boil for 10 minutes, then leave in a cooker for 3 hours or longer.
Cover spinach with boiling water and add 1 teaspoon coarse sea salt.
Boil for 5 minutes, then leave in a cooker for 1 hour or longer.
Bring 2 quarts of boiling water to a boil, add ½ pound macaroni and ½ tablespoon coarse sea salt.
Boil for 10 minutes, then leave in a cooker for 2 hours or longer.
Cover onions with boiling water and add ½ tablespoon coarse sea salt.
Boil for 5 minutes, then leave in a cooker for 3 to 4 hours.
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 aroma chemistry they share, and how many recipes mention both.
-
Cauliflower + parsniptop 8% of all pairsAroma overlapmoderateMentioned together27 recipes
Shared aroma: coumarin (sweet, hay).
-
Carrot + parsniptop 1% of all pairsAroma overlapstrongMentioned together1,096 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isobutyl-3-methoxypyrazine (green bell pepper, earthy).
-
Turnip + parsniptop 2% of all pairsAroma overlapstrongMentioned together589 recipes
Shared aroma: coumarin (sweet, hay).
-
Cauliflower + cabbagetop 2% of all pairsAroma overlapstrongMentioned together305 recipes
Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).
-
Asparagus + cauliflowertop 2% of all pairsAroma overlapstrongMentioned together163 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-octenal (fatty, green).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
Flavor stand-ins for the cauliflower
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (potato, asparagus, corn, carrot, cabbage, turnip, parsnip):
- Beetrootbetter flavor fit
- Leekbetter flavor fit
- Broccolibetter flavor fit
- Cauliflowerthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against potato, asparagus, corn, carrot, cabbage, turnip, parsnip. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes. This compares flavor only: it does not check the job the ingredient does in the dish (bulk, moisture, acidity, structure).
You might also like
Illustration
IllustrationThe Sunday pairing: one pairing, the chemistry behind it, and how to cook it. No spam, unsubscribe anytime.
Prefer an account? Create a free account for sign-in; Pro adds the full results and chemistry.