Why it works: Butter and cream are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 8% of all ingredient pairs, and 41,516 recipes mention both. Both carry delta-dodecalactone, which smells sweet, creamy. The science ↓
Palestine Soup
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare the base
In a large stewpan, add the ham, butter, and sliced onions.
Add the peeled Jerusalem artichokes and water.
Stew gently until everything is soft, shaking often to prevent burning.
Finish the soup
Pulp the mixture through a sieve.
Add rich veal broth and a little cream to the pulp.
Season with cayenne pepper before serving.
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.
Photo for illustrative purposes only · Contact us to use it
Explore the science
The flavor team
The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much aroma chemistry they share, and how many recipes mention both.
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Butter + creamtop 8% of all pairsAroma overlapmoderateMentioned together41,516 recipes
Shared aroma: delta-dodecalactone (sweet, creamy).
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Onion + jerusalem artichoketop 9% of all pairsAroma overlapstrongMentioned together140 recipes
Shared aroma: coumarin (sweet, hay).
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Onion + peppertop 11% of all pairsAroma overlapmoderateMentioned together68,474 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
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Jerusalem artichoke + creamtop 11% of all pairsAroma overlapmoderateMentioned together182 recipes
Shared aroma: octanal (fat, soap).
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Jerusalem artichoke + peppertop 12% of all pairsAroma overlapmoderateMentioned together210 recipes
Shared aroma: coumarin (sweet, hay).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Jerusalem artichokes
- Provide the main body and earthy flavor of the soup once softened and pulped.
- Onions
- Soften and sweeten slowly in butter, adding depth to the base.
- Butter
- Carries flavor from the ham and onions and adds richness to the soup.
- Ham
- Adds savory, salty flavor to the stewed base.
- Rich veal broth
- Adds savory body and depth to the pulped soup.
The step that matters
Stew gently and shake often. Cooking over gentle heat with frequent shaking keeps the onions and artichokes from scorching on the pan base, which would add bitter, burnt flavors. Cooking slowly until fully soft also lets the starches break down so the pulped soup becomes smooth.
Flavor stand-ins for the jerusalem artichoke
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (ham, butter, onion, veal, cream, pepper):
- Potatobetter flavor fit
- Leekbetter flavor fit
- Carrotabout as good a flavor fit
- Jerusalem artichokethe original
Fit is the average pairing score against ham, butter, onion, veal, cream, pepper. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes. This compares flavor only: it does not check the job the ingredient does in the dish (bulk, moisture, acidity, structure).
“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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