Why it works: Butter and cream are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 8% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 41,516 recipes. Both carry delta-dodecalactone, which smells sweet, creamy. The science ↓
Turnips in White Sauce
Ingredients
Directions
Cut turnips into quarters and shape them into balls or plums.
Arrange turnips in a broad saucepan and cover with veal broth.
Add salt and a little sugar, then boil until tender but unbroken.
Drain turnips and place them on a dish.
Pour thick white sauce over the turnips before serving.
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 + creamtop 8% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together41,516 recipes
Shared aroma: delta-dodecalactone (sweet, creamy).
-
Cream + sugartop 9% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together43,450 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,3-butanedione (butter, sweet).
-
Butter + sugartop 17% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together98,233 recipes
Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).
-
Turnip + vealtop 21% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together1,343 recipes
Shared aroma: 3-hexenol (green, grassy).
-
Butter + vealtop 23% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together9,381 recipes
Shared aroma: 3-hexenal (apple, fruity).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
Swap the turnip
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (butter, cream, veal, sugar):
- Leekfits better
- Potatofits better
- Onionfits better
- Turnipthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against butter, cream, veal, sugar. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.
You might also like
The free Flavor Lab newsletter: one surprising pairing a week and the molecular reason it works, in 60 seconds. No spam, unsubscribe anytime.
Prefer an account? Create a free account to save pairings and unlock the full chemistry.
Veal Patties50 recipes
Turnip Soup43 recipes
Beef, Mutton, or Veal Broth6 recipes
Tomato Soup526 recipes