Why it works: Jerusalem artichoke and cream work together. They rank in the top 11% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 182 recipes. Both carry octanal, which smells fat, soap. The science ↓
Jerusalem Artichoke, or Palestine Soup
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare the artichokes
Wash and peel the Jerusalem artichokes quickly, placing them in spring water to preserve their color.
Boil the artichokes in water for 10 minutes, then lift them out and place them into 3 pints of boiling stock.
Make the soup
Stew the artichokes gently in the stock for 15 to 20 minutes.
Press the mixture through a fine sieve into a clean saucepan.
Add 1.5 pints of additional stock, season with salt and cayenne, and skim well.
Simmer for 2 to 3 minutes, then stir in 1 pint of rich boiling cream.
Serve immediately.
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.
-
Jerusalem artichoke + creamtop 11% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together182 recipes
Shared aroma: octanal (fat, soap).
-
Jerusalem artichoke + peppertop 12% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together210 recipes
Shared aroma: coumarin (sweet, hay).
-
Pepper + creamtop 23% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together21,449 recipes
Shared aroma: acetic acid (sour, vinegar).
Pepper and cream barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 21,449 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
- Jerusalem artichokes
- Provide the main body and starchy flavor that thickens the soup when pressed through a sieve.
- Stock
- Carries the artichoke flavor and supplies the liquid that cooks and loosens the purée.
- Rich cream
- Adds fat and a smooth, velvety texture to the finished soup.
The step that matters
Stirring in the cream. Cream should be added after the soup is nearly finished and only simmered briefly, since prolonged boiling can cause dairy to separate and turn grainy.
Swap the jerusalem artichoke
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (pepper, cream):
- Spinachfits about as well
- Capsicumfits about as well
- Jerusalem artichokethe original
- Potatofits about as well
Fit is the average pairing score against pepper, cream. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.
“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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