Name: Another Way to Make Gravy Without Meat
Ingredients: 1 egg-sized piece of butter; flour (enough to knead); ½ cup boiling water; 1 small onion, finely minced; ¼ teaspoon whole black pepper; ¼ teaspoon coarse sea salt (formerly 'bay salt'); 1 tablespoon mushroom ketchup; 2 tablespoons port wine

Why it works: Butter and mushroom are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 7% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 12,525 recipes. Both carry trans-2-decenal, which smells waxy, orange. The science ↓

Another Way to Make Gravy Without Meat

Ingredients

1 egg-sized piece of butter
flour (enough to knead)
½ cup boiling water
1 small onion, finely minced
¼ teaspoon whole black pepper
¼ teaspoon coarse sea salt (formerly 'bay salt')
1 tablespoon mushroom ketchup
2 tablespoons port wine

Directions

Make the roux

Knead flour into the butter until well combined.
Fry the mixture in a frying pan over medium heat, stirring constantly until it turns a nice brown color.
Ensure the mixture is perfectly smooth.

Finish the gravy

Pour in the boiling water and add the minced onion, black pepper, and salt.
Transfer to a small saucepan, cover, and simmer for a short time.
Strain the gravy and mix in the mushroom ketchup and port wine.

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.

Butter + mushroomtop 7% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together12,525 recipes

Shared aroma: trans-2-decenal (waxy, orange).
Onion + mushroomtop 10% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together10,626 recipes

Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).
Mushroom + port winetop 10% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together570 recipes

Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).
Onion + peppertop 11% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together68,474 recipes

Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
Pepper + mushroomtop 11% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together13,580 recipes

Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

Butter: Enriches the flour base, adding fat and a rich flavor to the roux.
Flour: Thickens the gravy as it cooks with the butter into a roux.
Boiling water: Hydrates the roux and forms the liquid body of the gravy.
Mushroom ketchup: Adds concentrated savory, umami depth to the gravy.
Port wine: Adds sweetness and fruity depth to the finished gravy.

The step that matters

Browning the roux. Frying the butter and flour until nicely brown develops toasted, nutty flavor and color. Stirring constantly prevents scorching, which would leave a bitter taste that the gravy cannot hide.

Swap the onion

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (egg, butter, flour, pepper, mushroom, ketchup, port wine):

Shallotfits better
Capsicumfits better
Chivefits better
Onionthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against egg, butter, flour, pepper, mushroom, ketchup, port wine. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.

“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.

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Another Way to Make Gravy Without Meat