Name: Stuffed Mushrooms
Ingredients: 1 cup chopped mushrooms; 1 teaspoon grated onion; 2 tablespoons cream; 2 tablespoons butter; large mushrooms; coarse sea salt; fine bread crumbs

Why it works: Butter and bread are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 7% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 27,232 recipes. Both carry delta-decalactone, which smells sweet, creamy. The science ↓

Stuffed Mushrooms

Oven, in the book's wordsA hot oven

Ingredients

Directions

The book says “a hot oven”. The 400°F (200°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.

Prepare the filling

Heat the chopped mushrooms and grated onion in cream and butter in a pan.
Season the mixture well.

Stuff and bake

Fill the large mushrooms with the mixture.
Place the stuffed mushrooms in a buttered dish and sprinkle with bread crumbs.
Bake for 10 minutes at 400°F (200°C) 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.

Butter + breadtop 7% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together27,232 recipes

Shared aroma: delta-decalactone (sweet, creamy).
Mushroom + buttertop 7% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together12,525 recipes

Shared aroma: trans-2-decenal (waxy, orange).
Cream + buttertop 8% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together41,516 recipes

Shared aroma: delta-dodecalactone (sweet, creamy).
Mushroom + breadtop 10% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together2,536 recipes

Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
Mushroom + oniontop 10% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together10,626 recipes

Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).

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

What each ingredient does

Chopped mushrooms: Form the bulk of the filling and add earthy flavor as they soften and release moisture.
Cream: Adds moisture and richness to the filling so it stays soft rather than dry.
Butter: Adds fat and flavor, helping the filling brown lightly and taste rich.
Fine bread crumbs: Form a crisp, golden topping that browns in the oven and adds texture.