Why it works: Artichoke and pepper are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 10% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 1,170 recipes. Both carry nonanal, which smells fat, citrus. The science ↓
Artichokes, Italian Sttle
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare
Prepare the artichokes as directed in another recipe.
Place the artichokes in a flat saucepan.
Braise and finish
Season with coarse sea salt, black pepper, and sugar.
Add white wine and white broth to the saucepan.
Cook on a brisk fire until the broth reduces to a half glaze.
Stir in the white Italian sauce and serve.
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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Artichoke + peppertop 10% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together1,170 recipes
Shared aroma: nonanal (fat, citrus).
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Artichoke + white winetop 11% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together206 recipes
Shared aroma: 1-octen-3-ol (mushroom, earthy).
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Sugar + saucetop 13% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together5,147 recipes
Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
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Pepper + white winetop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together5,433 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
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Artichoke + saucetop 16% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together462 recipes
Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Artichokes
- Main vegetable; the tender base that the sauce and glaze coat.
- White wine
- Adds acidity and aroma as it reduces into the cooking liquid.
- White broth
- Provides the liquid that reduces into a glaze, carrying flavor onto the artichokes.
- White italian sauce
- Stirred in at the end to add richness and body to the finished dish.
- Sugar
- Adds a touch of sweetness that balances the acidity of the wine.
The step that matters
Reducing the broth to a half glaze. Cooking on a brisk fire reduces the liquid and concentrates its flavor and sugars. If the heat is too low, the broth will not thicken into a glaze; if it reduces too far, it can scorch and turn bitter.
“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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