Why it works: Chicken and leek work together. They rank in the top 11% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 165 recipes. Both carry ethyl butyrate, which smells apple, fruity. The science ↓
Leek Soup
Ingredients
Directions
In a large pot, combine the chicken broth and leeks.
Bring to a boil and then reduce heat to simmer for 3 hours.
Skim off any foam that rises to the surface.
Season with pepper and coarse sea salt to taste.
Serve hot.
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.
Photo for illustrative purposes only · Contact us to use it
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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Chicken + leektop 11% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together165 recipes
Shared aroma: ethyl butyrate (apple, fruity).
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Leek + peppertop 12% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together965 recipes
Shared aroma: coumarin (sweet, hay).
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Chicken + peppertop 16% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together19,958 recipes
Shared aroma: piperonal (bitter, coconut).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Leeks
- Provide the main body of flavor and soften into the soup, thickening it slightly as they break down.
- Chicken broth
- Forms the liquid base and carries the flavor of the leeks throughout the soup.
The step that matters
Skim off the foam. Foam that rises during simmering contains impurities and proteins that can cloud the broth and taste bitter if left in. Removing it keeps the soup clear and clean-tasting.
Swap the leek
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (chicken, pepper):
- Capsicumfits better
- Tomatofits better
- Potatofits better
- Leekthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against chicken, pepper. 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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