Name: Escalloped Cabbage
Ingredients: 1 medium sized cabbage; 1 cup white sauce; ½ cup Knox Gelatine; 1 cup cracker crumbs; 3 tablespoons melted butter; salt to taste; pepper to taste

Why it works: Cabbage and pepper are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 5% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 4,081 recipes. Both carry 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine, which smells earthy, pea. The science ↓

Escalloped Cabbage

Oven, in the book's wordsA moderate oven

Ingredients

Directions

The book says “a moderate oven”. The 350°F (175°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.

Prepare the cabbage

Boil the cabbage until tender.
Chop the boiled cabbage into small pieces.

Assemble and bake

In a bowl, combine the chopped cabbage with white sauce, Knox Gelatine, cracker crumbs, melted butter, salt, and pepper.
Transfer the mixture to a baking dish.
Cover the top with additional cracker crumbs mixed with 1 tablespoon of melted butter.
Bake for 20 minutes in a moderate oven at 350°F (175°C).

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.

Cabbage + peppertop 5% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together4,081 recipes

Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
Sauce + buttertop 15% of all pairs

Smell alikelow

Cooked together15,338 recipes

Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
Butter + peppertop 21% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together85,593 recipes

Shared aroma: trans-2-nonenal (cardboard, fatty).
Cabbage + buttertop 26% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together2,397 recipes

Shared aroma: 3-hexenal (apple, fruity).
Sauce + peppertop 27% of all pairs

Smell alikelow

Cooked together15,303 recipes

Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).

Sauce and butter barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 15,338 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

What each ingredient does

Cabbage: Forms the bulk of the dish and gives it its main texture and vegetable flavor.
White sauce: Adds moisture and creaminess, binding the cabbage into a soft, cohesive mixture.
Knox gelatine: Helps bind the mixture so it holds together and firms as it cools.
Cracker crumbs: Absorb liquid and add structure, and brown to form a crisp topping.
Butter: Adds richness and helps the crumb topping brown in the oven.