Why it works: Turnip and leek match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 1,046 recipes. Both carry coumarin, which smells sweet, hay. The science ↓
Nutrient-Rich Vegetable Soup
Ingredients
Directions
Collect leftover meat and bones.
Place bones in a large pot with water and bring to a boil.
Add chopped turnips, carrots, leeks, potatoes, lettuce leaves, and celery.
Include the thick part of peas and grits or coarse oatmeal.
Simmer until the vegetables are tender and the broth is flavorful.
Add the leftover meat towards the end to warm it through.
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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Turnip + leektop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together1,046 recipes
Shared aroma: coumarin (sweet, hay).
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Carrot + celerytop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together10,173 recipes
Shared aroma: myristicin (spice, warm).
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Turnip + lettucetop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together526 recipes
Shared aroma: coumarin (sweet, hay).
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Leek + lettucetop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together217 recipes
Shared aroma: trans-2-hexenal (green, leafy).
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Turnip + carrottop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together8,002 recipes
Shared aroma: coumarin (sweet, hay).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
Swap the peas
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (meat, turnip, carrot, leek, potato, lettuce, celery):
- Lentilsfits better
- Beansfits better
- Chickpeafits better
- Peasthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against meat, turnip, carrot, leek, potato, lettuce, celery. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.
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