Name: Pilchard or Herring, and Leek Pie
Ingredients: large leeks; milk; water; salted pilchards or herrings; plain pie crust; ½ pint scalded cream

Why it works: Milk and cream are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 18% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 29,399 recipes. Both carry delta-dodecalactone, which smells sweet, creamy. The science ↓

Pilchard or Herring, and Leek Pie

Ingredients

Directions

Cut the white part of the leeks and wash them in cold water.
Drain the leeks and scald them in a mixture of milk and water.
Layer the scalded leeks in a dish, followed by the soaked salted pilchards or herrings.
Add another layer of leeks on top.
Cover with a plain pie crust and bake until golden.
Raise the side crust, pour off any excess liquid, and pour in the scalded cream through the opening.

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.

Milk + creamtop 18% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together29,399 recipes

Shared aroma: delta-dodecalactone (sweet, creamy).
Leek + creamtop 18% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together158 recipes

Shared aroma: 2-nonanone (fruity, floral).
Leek + milktop 19% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together200 recipes

Shared aroma: ethyl butyrate (apple, fruity).