Why it works: Lentils and veal work together. They rank in the top 28% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 18 recipes. Both carry 2-methylbutyraldehyde, which smells malty, chocolate. The science ↓
Lentil-soup
Ingredients
Directions
Cook lentils in veal broth until soft.
Puree the lentils until smooth.
Season to taste, similar to white or dried pea soup.
Ensure the lentils are boiled long enough to extract their color.
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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Lentils + vealtop 28% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together18 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-methylbutyraldehyde (malty, chocolate).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Lentils
- Provide the main body and thickness once cooked and pureed into the soup.
- Veal broth
- Supplies the liquid that cooks the lentils and carries the savoury flavour of the soup.
The step that matters
Boiling the lentils long enough. The record says lentils must boil long enough to extract their color. Under-boiling leaves the soup pale, and the lentils may not soften fully for smooth pureeing.
“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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