Name: Carrots, Stewed
Ingredients: 6 or 7 large carrots; ½ pint of stock; ½ pint of milk; 1 tablespoon of cream

Why it works: Milk and cream are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 18% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 29,399 recipes. Both carry delta-dodecalactone, which smells sweet, creamy. The science ↓

Carrots, Stewed

Ingredients

6 or 7 large carrots
½ pint of stock
½ pint of milk
1 tablespoon of cream

Directions

Prepare

Peel and slice the carrots.

Stew and finish

In a pot, combine the carrots and stock.
Simmer until the carrots are tender.
Stir in the milk and cream.
Heat through and serve.

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.

Milk + creamtop 18% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together29,399 recipes

Shared aroma: delta-dodecalactone (sweet, creamy).
Carrot + milktop 18% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together2,259 recipes

Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
Carrot + creamtop 29% of all pairs

Smell alikelow

Cooked together2,215 recipes

Shared aroma: gamma-decalactone (peach, creamy).

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

Carrots: Form the main body of the dish and, as they soften, give it sweetness and a tender texture.
Stock: Cooks the carrots by simmering and adds savoury depth to the liquid.
Milk: Adds creaminess and body to the stewing liquid.
Cream: Adds richness and a smooth, silky mouthfeel to the finished stew.