Name: Stewed Calf's Head Soup
Ingredients: 3 pints stock; 2 large tablespoons curry powder; 2 large tablespoons thickening (flour or arrowroot); 1 cup thick cream; 1 teaspoon flour or arrowroot; 1 tablespoon chili vinegar or 2 tablespoons lemon juice; 3-4 pounds breast of veal or mutton, free from bone and fat

Why it works: Flour and cream are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 20% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 30,481 recipes. Both carry acetaldehyde, which smells pungent, ethereal. The science ↓

Stewed Calf's Head Soup

Ingredients

3 pints stock
2 large tablespoons curry powder
2 large tablespoons thickening (flour or arrowroot)
1 cup thick cream
1 teaspoon flour or arrowroot
1 tablespoon chili vinegar or 2 tablespoons lemon juice
3-4 pounds breast of veal or mutton, free from bone and fat

Directions

In a pot, combine 3 pints of stock and bring to a simmer.
Add 2 tablespoons of curry powder and 2 tablespoons of thickening, stirring well.
Cook for 20 minutes, then add the flesh of the calf's head and sweetbread, cooking for an additional 15 minutes.
In a separate bowl, mix 1 cup of thick cream with 1 teaspoon of flour or arrowroot, then stir into the soup and boil for 2 minutes.
Add 1 tablespoon of chili vinegar or 2 tablespoons of lemon juice to taste.
For a richer flavor, stew the brain of the calf's head in a little stock, sieve it, and gradually mix it back into the soup.

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.

Flour + creamtop 20% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together30,481 recipes

Shared aroma: acetaldehyde (pungent, ethereal).
Cream + vinegartop 25% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together4,064 recipes

Shared aroma: acetic acid (sour, vinegar).
Flour + vinegartop 27% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together8,652 recipes

Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
Cream + vealtop 27% of all pairs

Smell alikelow

Cooked together3,202 recipes

Shared aroma: 2-heptanol (bitter, floral).
Flour + vealtop 28% of all pairs

Smell alikelow

Cooked together5,886 recipes

Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).