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 ↓
Roast Turkey
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare
Wash and singe the turkey.
Prepare the dressing by moistening the chopped stale bread with cold water, then mix in the butter, salt, and pepper.
Rub the outside of the turkey with butter and flour.
Roast and serve
Roast the turkey for 3 hours, basting frequently.
Garnish with link sausage that has been fried to a light brown.
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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Bread + buttertop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together27,232 recipes
Shared aroma: delta-decalactone (sweet, creamy).
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Butter + flourtop 12% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together124,287 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Turkey + breadtop 12% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together822 recipes
Shared aroma: decanal (soap, orange peel).
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Turkey + buttertop 13% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together1,592 recipes
Shared aroma: trans-2-decenal (waxy, orange).
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Turkey + peppertop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together1,636 recipes
Shared aroma: myristicin (spice, warm).
Butter and flour barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 124,287 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
- Turkey
- The main protein; its long roasting time cooks the meat through to tender.
- Stale bread
- Forms the body of the dressing, soaking up moisture so it holds together.
- Butter
- Adds fat and richness, and helps the outside of the turkey brown.
- French's white lily flour
- Coats the turkey skin, helping it brown and crisp in the oven.
- Link sausage
- Fried until light brown, it adds savoury flavour and a crisp garnish.
The step that matters
Basting frequently during the 3-hour roast. Basting spreads melted fat and juices over the skin, keeping it moist and promoting even browning, while reducing the risk of dry meat.
“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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