Why it works: Flour and butter are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 12% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 124,287 recipes. Both carry isobutyraldehyde, which smells malty, green. The science ↓
To Roast a Turkey
Ingredients
Directions
Pluck the turkey carefully, removing all feathers without wrenching them.
Singe and clean the inside of the bird thoroughly.
Break the leg bone near the foot and hang the bird to remove sinews from the thighs.
Cut off the neck close to the back, leaving skin over the crop to fold back.
Avoid breaking the gall to prevent bitterness.
Cut the breastbone on each side close to the back and draw the legs to the breast.
Flatten the high breastbone for a plump appearance.
Fill the breast with forcemeat or sausage meat.
Leave the legs on and skewer them close to the breast.
Score the gizzard and dip it in egg yolk, seasoning with salt and pepper.
Place the liver on one side and the gizzard on the other, securing with skewers.
Cover the breast with buttered paper and lightly dredge with flour.
Keep the turkey at a distance from the fire for half an hour, then move it closer and baste liberally until well roasted.
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.
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Flour + buttertop 12% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together124,287 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Turkey + meattop 13% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together540 recipes
Shared aroma: 1-octen-3-ol (mushroom, earthy).
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Turkey + buttertop 13% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together1,592 recipes
Shared aroma: trans-2-decenal (waxy, orange).
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Turkey + peppertop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together1,636 recipes
Shared aroma: myristicin (spice, warm).
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Egg + flourtop 15% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together106,462 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
Flour and butter barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 124,287 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
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