Why it works: Butter and truffle are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 11% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 2,209 recipes. Both carry nonanal, which smells fat, citrus. The science ↓
Quails, Boned and Stuffed, Cold
Ingredients
Directions
The book says “a brisk oven”. The 400°F (200°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.
Bone the quails without opening them by working the knife from the neck.
Fill the quails with liver forcemeat using a forcing bag.
Truss the quails, roll them in buttered paper, and bake on a buttered tin at 400°F (200°C).
Let the quails cool, then cut them in half and mask the outsides with brown chaudfroid sauce.
Sprinkle with chopped gherkin and hard-boiled egg white.
Spread the flat sides with white chaudfroid and sprinkle with sieved egg yolks.
Place a bit of truffle in the center of each half.
Create a plain aspic border and arrange five halves around it en couronne.
Fill the border with cooked macédoine of vegetables, placing half a bird underneath.
Mask the top with mayonnaise and garnish with the same materials used for the birds.
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.
-
Butter + truffletop 11% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together2,209 recipes
Shared aroma: nonanal (fat, citrus).
-
Liver + truffletop 14% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together395 recipes
Shared aroma: 1-nonanal (fatty, waxy).
-
Butter + saucetop 15% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together15,338 recipes
Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
-
Quail + truffletop 15% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together91 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-methylbutyraldehyde (malty, chocolate).
-
Quail + buttertop 16% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together512 recipes
Shared aroma: decanal (soap, orange peel).
Butter and sauce barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 15,338 recipes: they work on texture and structure more than aroma.
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
You might also like
The free Flavor Lab newsletter: one surprising pairing a week and the molecular reason it works, in 60 seconds. No spam, unsubscribe anytime.
Prefer an account? Create a free account to save pairings and unlock the full chemistry.
Tomato Soup526 recipes
Brown Bread461 recipes
Mutton Broth292 recipes
Yorkshire Pudding264 recipes