Name: Asparagus, Almond-Pudding, with Butter Sauce
Ingredients: Asparagus; Almonds; Butter; Salt; Pepper

Why it works: Asparagus and almond share more aroma than cooks usually use. They rank in the top 7% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 94 recipes. Both carry 2,4-decadienal, which smells seaweed. The science ↓

Asparagus, Almond-Pudding, with Butter Sauce

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare the asparagus by trimming the ends and boiling until tender.
In a separate bowl, blend ground almonds with softened butter, salt, and pepper.
Once the asparagus is cooked, drain and arrange on a serving plate.
Top the asparagus with the almond-butter mixture and serve warm.

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.

Asparagus + almondtop 7% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together94 recipes

Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).
Asparagus + peppertop 10% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together1,968 recipes

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

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together9,245 recipes

Shared aroma: 2,3-pentanedione (butter, sweet).
Asparagus + buttertop 17% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together2,026 recipes

Shared aroma: trans-2-nonenal (cardboard, fatty).
Almond + peppertop 18% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together1,566 recipes

Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).