Name: Gravy Soup or Soupe.Santc
Ingredients: 6 slices of lean ham; 3 pounds of lean beef; 3 pounds of lean veal; 6 onions, sliced; 2 carrots, sliced; 2 turnips, sliced; 2 heads of celery; 1 bundle of sweet herbs; 6 cloves; 2 blades of mace; 1 gallon of boiling water; 1 carrot, cut into 2-inch pieces; 1 turnip, cut into pieces; 2 heads of leeks, cut; 2 heads of celery, cut; 2 heads of endive, cut; 2 cabbage lettuces, cut; a little sorrel; a little chervil; crust of a French roll

Why it works: Carrot and celery match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 10,173 recipes. Both carry myristicin, which smells spice, warm. The science ↓

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.

Carrot + celerytop 1% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together10,173 recipes

Shared aroma: myristicin (spice, warm).
Carrot + turniptop 1% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together8,002 recipes

Shared aroma: coumarin (sweet, hay).
Turnip + celerytop 2% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together4,418 recipes

Shared aroma: coumarin (sweet, hay).
Carrot + clovetop 5% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together5,873 recipes

Shared aroma: cuminaldehyde (Spicy, cumin).
Onion + turniptop 5% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together7,585 recipes

Shared aroma: coumarin (sweet, hay).

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

What each ingredient does

Lean beef: Gives the stock its meaty body and rich beefy flavour as it simmers.
Lean veal: Adds gelatin-rich body and a delicate savoury depth to the stock.
Onions: Contribute sweetness and aromatic depth to the stock as they cook down.
Carrots: Add natural sweetness and colour to the stock and vegetables.
Leeks: Add a mild onion-like sweetness and aroma to the finished soup.
Endive: Adds a slightly bitter note and fresh vegetable texture to the soup.

The step that matters

Cooking the stock gently. Simmering rather than boiling keeps the broth clear and prevents meat proteins and fats from emulsifying into a cloudy, greasy liquid. Gentle heat also extracts flavour more evenly from the meat and bones.

Swap the clove

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (ham, beef, veal, onion, carrot, turnip, celery):

Parsleyfits better
Marjoramfits better
Thymefits better
Clovethe original

Fit is the average pairing score against ham, beef, veal, onion, carrot, turnip, celery. 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.

Gravy Soup or Soupe.Santc