Why it works: Onion and mustard match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 6% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 9,259 recipes. Both carry 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine, which smells earthy, pea. The science ↓
Liver Pate
Ingredients
Directions
Cook the meats and mushrooms
Boil the calf's liver in salted water until very tender.
In another pot, boil the calf's tongue until tender.
Boil the halved champignons until cooked.
Make the paste
Once the liver and tongue are cold, pound the liver into a paste using a wooden spoon, adding butter as needed.
Season the liver paste with onion juice, cayenne or paprika, salt, Worcestershire sauce, and French mustard.
Mix all ingredients well and pack the paste into small jars, adding diced tongue and champignons.
Pack and finish
Grease the jars with butter and press the mixture down firmly.
Smooth the tops and cover with melted butter.
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.
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Onion + mustardtop 6% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together9,259 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
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Sauce + mustardtop 13% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together2,120 recipes
Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
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Butter + saucetop 15% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together15,338 recipes
Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
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Butter + oniontop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together42,912 recipes
Shared aroma: decanal (soap, orange peel).
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Liver + oniontop 15% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together1,420 recipes
Shared aroma: furaneol (caramel, strawberry).
Butter and sauce barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 15,338 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
- Calf's liver
- Forms the smooth, rich body of the pâté when pounded into a paste.
- Calf's tongue
- Adds a firmer, meaty texture that gives the pâté more bite.
- Champignons
- Add earthy flavour and soft pieces of texture throughout the paste.
- Butter
- Adds moisture and richness, helping the paste stay soft and spreadable.
- Worcestershire sauce
- Contributes savoury, tangy depth that rounds out the liver's strong flavour.
The step that matters
Pounding the liver paste. Liver must be fully cold and very tender before pounding. Warm or undercooked liver turns greasy or grainy, and adding butter gradually helps the paste emulsify into a smooth, spreadable texture.
Swap the mustard
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (liver, butter, onion, sauce):
- Mustardthe original
- Chivefits about as well
- Potatofits about as well
- Shallotfits about as well
Fit is the average pairing score against liver, butter, onion, sauce. 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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