Why it works: Pepper and lemon match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 3% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 27,047 recipes. Both carry trans-2-nonenal, which smells cardboard, fatty. The science ↓
Brussels Sprouts
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare the sprouts
Trim and wash the Brussels sprouts thoroughly.
Boil the sprouts in salted water for 8 to 10 minutes.
Drain the sprouts well.
Serve
Toast the bread slices and butter both sides.
Serve the sprouts on the buttered toast with rich melted butter on the side.
Optionally, toss the sprouts in a pan with butter, pepper, and salt, adding veal gravy and lemon juice if desired.
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.
Photo for illustrative purposes only · Contact us to use it
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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Pepper + lemontop 3% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together27,047 recipes
Shared aroma: trans-2-nonenal (cardboard, fatty).
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Bread + buttertop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together27,232 recipes
Shared aroma: delta-decalactone (sweet, creamy).
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Walnut + lemontop 10% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together2,149 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
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Walnut + peppertop 13% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together3,039 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
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Walnut + buttertop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together6,832 recipes
Shared aroma: eucalyptol (eucalyptus, herbal).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Brussels sprouts
- Form the main vegetable body of the dish, cooked until tender by boiling.
- Thick slices of bread
- Provide a toasted base that holds the sprouts and soaks up butter.
- Butter
- Adds richness and fat, carrying flavour and giving the toast a golden, savoury finish.
The step that matters
Drain the sprouts well. Water left on boiled sprouts dilutes the butter and makes the toast soggy, so the sprouts should be thoroughly drained before serving.
“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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