Name: Parsnip Soup No. 2
Ingredients: 2 cups parsnips, peeled and chopped; 4 cups vegetable broth; 1 onion, chopped; 2 tablespoons butter; Salt and pepper to taste

Why it works: Parsnip and onion match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 9% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 1,054 recipes. Both carry 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine, which smells earthy, pea. The science ↓

Parsnip Soup No. 2

Ingredients

Directions

The book gives no cooking times; the times in the steps were added in transcription, so check for doneness rather than trusting the clock.

In a pot, melt the butter over medium heat.
Add the chopped onion and sauté until translucent.
Add the parsnips and vegetable broth.
Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer until parsnips are tender, about 20 minutes.
Blend the soup until smooth, then season with salt and pepper.

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.

Parsnip + oniontop 9% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together1,054 recipes

Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
Parsnip + peppertop 9% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together1,109 recipes

Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
Onion + peppertop 11% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together68,474 recipes

Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
Onion + buttertop 15% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together42,912 recipes

Shared aroma: decanal (soap, orange peel).
Butter + peppertop 21% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together85,593 recipes

Shared aroma: trans-2-nonenal (cardboard, fatty).

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

What each ingredient does

Parsnips: Provide the main body and sweet, earthy flavor of the soup.
Vegetable broth: Supplies the liquid that cooks the parsnips and sets the soup's consistency.
Onion: Builds a savory base of flavor as it softens in the butter.
Butter: Adds fat and rich flavor while cooking the onion.