Why it works: Butter and flour are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 12% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 124,287 recipes. Both carry isobutyraldehyde, which smells malty, green. The science ↓
Mock Terrapin
Ingredients
Directions
Sear the liver in a pot until browned on all sides, being careful not to overcook it.
Add the fried vegetables, other vegetables, seasonings, and enough boiling water or stock to half-cover the liver.
Place a little bacon over the liver and close the pot air-tight.
Bring to a rapid boil, then reduce heat to simmer for about 2 hours.
Once the liver is firm to the touch, remove it to a hot dish.
Bring the gravy to a rapid boil; make a roux with the butter and flour until brown, then blend with some boiling sauce.
Add the roux to the pot, stir, and let the gravy boil briskly for 5 minutes.
Strain the gravy, place the vegetables around the liver, pour some sauce over the liver, and serve the rest in a sauceboat.
Optionally, add a little wine to the sauce.
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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Butter + flourtop 12% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together124,287 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Butter + winetop 13% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together8,645 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-furfurylthiol (coffee, roasted).
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Liver + buttertop 19% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together2,065 recipes
Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).
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Liver + winetop 26% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together251 recipes
Shared aroma: terpineol (pine, woody).
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Liver + flourtop 28% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together1,418 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
Butter and flour barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 124,287 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
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