Name: Apples with Butter
Ingredients: juicy apples; slices of bread; butter; white sugar

Why it works: Bread and butter are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 7% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 27,232 recipes. Both carry delta-decalactone, which smells sweet, creamy. The science ↓

Apples with Butter

Oven, in the book's wordsA gentle oven

Ingredients

juicy apples
slices of bread
butter
white sugar

Directions

The book says “a gentle oven”. The 350°F (175°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.

Prepare

Quarter and core the apples, then cut them into small squares.

Assemble

Layer the bread slices and quartered apples in a pan, alternating them.
Place a small piece of butter on each apple piece.

Bake and serve

Bake in a gentle oven at 350°F (175°C) until the bread is slightly browned.
Sprinkle white sugar over the apples before serving.

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.

Bread + buttertop 7% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together27,232 recipes

Shared aroma: delta-decalactone (sweet, creamy).
Apple + breadtop 14% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together1,790 recipes

Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).
Apple + buttertop 14% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together8,706 recipes

Shared aroma: trans-2-nonenal (cardboard, fatty).
Butter + sugartop 17% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together98,233 recipes

Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).
Apple + sugartop 18% of all pairs

Smell alikelow

Cooked together16,478 recipes

Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).

Apple and sugar barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 16,478 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

Juicy apples: Provide the fruit filling, releasing juice as they soften in the oven.
Slices of bread: Form the structure and absorb juices, browning on the surface as it bakes.
Butter: Adds richness and helps the bread and apples brown while baking.
White sugar: Adds sweetness and helps the top caramelise slightly.