Name: Brussels Sprouts
Ingredients: Brussels sprouts; Coarse sea salt; Butter; Thick bread

Why it works: Butter and bread are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 7% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 27,232 recipes. Both carry delta-decalactone, which smells sweet, creamy. The science ↓

Brussels Sprouts

Ingredients

Brussels sprouts
Coarse sea salt
Butter
Thick bread

Directions

Remove discolored leaves from the Brussels sprouts and cut the stems evenly.
Wash the sprouts thoroughly.
Boil the sprouts in salted water for 8 to 10 minutes.
Drain the sprouts well.
Serve the sprouts on buttered toasted bread.
Serve melted butter on the side.

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.

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.

Butter + breadtop 7% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together27,232 recipes

Shared aroma: delta-decalactone (sweet, creamy).
Brussels sprouts + buttertop 34% of all pairs

Smell alikelow

Cooked together20 recipes

Shared aroma: trans-2-hexenal (green, leafy).
Brussels sprouts + breadtop 77% of all pairs

Smell alikelow

Cooked together0 recipes

Shared aroma: cis-3-hexenol (green, grassy).