Name: Artichokes a LA Milanese
Ingredients: boiled artichokes; butter; finely grated cheese

Why it works: Butter and cheese are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 8% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 7,962 recipes. Both carry delta-dodecalactone, which smells sweet, creamy. The science ↓

Artichokes a LA Milanese

Ingredients

boiled artichokes
butter
finely grated cheese

Directions

Place boiled artichokes in a casserole.
Put a piece of butter in the center of each artichoke.
Sprinkle the artichokes with finely grated cheese.
Cover and cook slowly for 20 minutes.
Serve hot.

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.

Butter + cheesetop 8% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together7,962 recipes

Shared aroma: delta-dodecalactone (sweet, creamy).
Artichoke + buttertop 15% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together893 recipes

Shared aroma: trans-2-hexenal (green, leafy).
Artichoke + cheesetop 21% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together161 recipes

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