Why it works: Cream and sauce are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 9% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 4,787 recipes. Both carry ethanol, which smells alcoholic, ethereal. The science ↓
White Giblet Soup
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare the giblets as in the preceding recipe.
Strain the stock.
Add the Bechamel sauce and cream to the stock.
Serve hot.
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.
-
Cream + saucetop 9% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together4,787 recipes
Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
-
Asparagus + eggtop 17% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together1,338 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
-
Asparagus + saucetop 20% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together573 recipes
Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
-
Asparagus + creamtop 22% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together838 recipes
Shared aroma: 1-octen-3-one (mushroom, metallic).
-
Egg + creamtop 24% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together42,166 recipes
Shared aroma: acetic acid (sour, vinegar).
Egg and cream barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 42,166 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
Swap the asparagus
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (egg, cream, sauce):
- Horseradishfits better
- Spinachfits about as well
- Asparagusthe original
- Welsh onionfits about as well
Fit is the average pairing score against egg, cream, sauce. 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.
Cream of Asparagus Soup42 recipes
Indian Spiced Potato Soup with Tofu and Spinach448 recipes
Clear Carrot and Bottle Gourd Soup65 recipes
Mock Bisque Soup51 recipes