Why it works: Butter and white wine are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 9% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 5,083 recipes. Both carry ethyl octanoate, which smells fruity, wine. The science ↓
Artichokes, a LA Lyonnaise
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare
Remove the lower leaves from the artichokes without damaging the bottoms.
Smooth the bottoms with a sharp knife and cut the artichokes into quarters.
Remove fibrous parts and trim neatly.
Parboil in salted water for 5 minutes.
Drain and immerse in cold water.
Braise
Drain again and arrange in a sauté pan with butter.
Sprinkle sugar, pepper, and salt over the artichokes.
Moisten with white wine and consomme.
Simmer gently on low heat for about 45 minutes.
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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Butter + white winetop 9% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together5,083 recipes
Shared aroma: ethyl octanoate (fruity, wine).
-
Artichoke + peppertop 10% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together1,170 recipes
Shared aroma: nonanal (fat, citrus).
-
Artichoke + white winetop 11% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together206 recipes
Shared aroma: 1-octen-3-ol (mushroom, earthy).
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Pepper + white winetop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together5,433 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
-
Artichoke + buttertop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together893 recipes
Shared aroma: trans-2-hexenal (green, leafy).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Artichokes
- Form the main body of the dish, becoming tender as they braise.
- Butter
- Adds fat and richness, carrying flavour and giving a silky finish to the sauce.
- White wine
- Adds acidity and aroma, and helps moisten and flavour the braising liquid.
- Consomme
- Supplies savoury depth to the braising liquid.
- Sugar
- Adds sweetness and helps the artichokes take on light browning as the liquid reduces.
The step that matters
Simmer gently on low heat. Gentle heat lets the artichokes cook through slowly and become tender without breaking apart or the liquid boiling away too fast. Vigorous boiling can toughen the surface and reduce the braising liquid unevenly.
“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.
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