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Truffles in Madeira

Truffles simmered in Madeira wine with seasonings, finished with glaze and butter.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 8 ingredients
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Why it works: Clove and pepper match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 5% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 17,451 recipes. Both carry ethyl octanoate, which smells fruity, wine. The science ↓

Truffles in Madeira

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare

  1. Wash and prepare the truffles, keeping them cool until needed.

Cook

  1. Place the truffles in a saucepan with Madeira wine and seasonings.

  2. Cook until tender, then add the glaze.

  3. Keep the truffles hot while boiling the wine quickly for a few minutes.

  4. Add the butter, pour the mixture over the truffles, and serve immediately.

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.

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.

  1. Clove + peppertop 5% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together17,451 recipes

    Shared aroma: ethyl octanoate (fruity, wine).

  2. Truffle + buttertop 11% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together2,209 recipes

    Shared aroma: nonanal (fat, citrus).

  3. Truffle + madeira winetop 13% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together195 recipes
  4. Pepper + buttertop 21% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together85,593 recipes

    Shared aroma: trans-2-nonenal (cardboard, fatty).

  5. Madeira wine + clovetop 22% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together273 recipes

    Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).

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

What each ingredient does

Truffles
The main ingredient, whose earthy aroma and tender texture define the dish.
Madeira wine
Provides sweetness and depth of flavour as the cooking liquid, concentrated by boiling.
Butter
Adds richness and a glossy finish to the sauce.
Glaze
Adds concentrated meaty flavour and body to the sauce.

The step that matters

Keep the truffles hot while boiling the wine. Truffles should stay hot but not be overcooked, since prolonged heat dulls their delicate aroma. Boiling the wine quickly reduces it and concentrates its sugars and flavour, giving a sauce that clings to the truffles without turning them tough.

Swap the clove

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (truffle, madeira wine, pepper, butter):

  1. Thymefits better
  2. Parsleyfits better
  3. Marjoramfits about as well
  4. Clovethe original

Fit is the average pairing score against truffle, madeira wine, pepper, butter. 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.

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