Why it works: Rice and pepper are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 12% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 8,379 recipes. Both carry trans-2-nonenal, which smells cardboard, fatty. The science ↓
Turkish Soup
Ingredients
Directions
Make the soup
Boil the rice and stock together for 20 minutes, keeping the kettle tightly covered.
Press the mixture through a sieve, returning all that runs through to the fire.
Finish and serve
Add the cream mixed with the beaten yolks and cook for 2-3 minutes, stirring constantly to prevent burning.
Season with salt and pepper, and serve immediately.
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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Rice + peppertop 12% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together8,379 recipes
Shared aroma: trans-2-nonenal (cardboard, fatty).
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Rice + creamtop 23% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together3,399 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonanone (fruity, floral).
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Cream + peppertop 23% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together21,449 recipes
Shared aroma: acetic acid (sour, vinegar).
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Egg + creamtop 24% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together42,166 recipes
Shared aroma: acetic acid (sour, vinegar).
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Rice + eggtop 28% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together8,350 recipes
Shared aroma: (e,e)-2,4-decadienal (fatty, deep fried).
Cream and pepper barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 21,449 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
- Rice
- Breaks down while simmering in the stock, thickening the soup and giving it body.
- Egg yolks
- Enrich and thicken the soup when gently cooked, giving it a smooth, creamy texture.
- Cream
- Adds fat and richness, softening the flavor and smoothing the texture of the soup.
The step that matters
Adding the yolk and cream mixture. Egg yolks can curdle or scramble if they get too hot. Stirring constantly over gentle heat keeps the mixture smooth and thickens it evenly instead of leaving lumps.
“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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