Why it works: Mushroom and shallot are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 4% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 1,982 recipes. Both carry 2,4-decadienal, which smells seaweed. The science ↓
Sauces for Roast Fowls
Ingredients
Directions
Stew ham, veal, and mushrooms with sweet herbs, shallot, allspice, and butter until browned.
Simmer gently in weak broth or water until a strong gravy forms.
Strain the mixture and season with additional flavoring from made sauces.
Serve hot in a sauce-tureen.
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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Mushroom + shallottop 4% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together1,982 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).
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Shallot + allspicetop 6% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together386 recipes
Shared aroma: eucalyptol (eucalyptus, herbal).
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Mushroom + buttertop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together12,525 recipes
Shared aroma: trans-2-decenal (waxy, orange).
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Veal + mushroomtop 14% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together2,446 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,4-nonadienal (fatty, green).
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Shallot + saucetop 14% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together1,303 recipes
Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
Swap the allspice
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (ham, veal, mushroom, shallot, butter, sauce):
- Capersfits better
- Tarragonfits better
- Thymefits better
- Allspicethe original
Fit is the average pairing score against ham, veal, mushroom, shallot, butter, sauce. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.
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