Name: Cauliflower Soup
Ingredients: 1 head of cauliflower, cut into small pieces; 1 tablespoon grated cheese; 2 quarts boiling water; 1 pint milk; Pepper to taste; Coarse sea salt to taste

Why it works: Cauliflower and pepper are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 9% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 1,113 recipes. Both carry 4'-methylacetophenone, which smells bitter almond. The science ↓

Cauliflower Soup

Ingredients

Directions

Add barley to boiling water and boil for 1 hour.
Strain the barley and return it to the pan.
Add the cauliflower and cook for 1 hour longer.
Stir in the grated cheese, milk, and seasoning, and bring to a boil.

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.

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.

Cauliflower + peppertop 9% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together1,113 recipes

Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).
Cheese + milktop 10% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together4,426 recipes

Shared aroma: delta-dodecalactone (sweet, creamy).
Cheese + peppertop 18% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together7,861 recipes

Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
Cauliflower + milktop 20% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together314 recipes

Shared aroma: 1-octen-3-one (mushroom, metallic).
Cauliflower + cheesetop 21% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together171 recipes

Shared aroma: 1-octen-3-one (mushroom, metallic).