Why it works: Pepper and meat are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 19% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 8,777 recipes. Both carry 2,4-decadienal, which smells seaweed. The science ↓
Soup a LA Reine
Ingredients
Directions
Heat the stock
Remove the fat from the stock and bring it to a boil in a saucepan.
Finish the soup
In a bowl, combine the cream, pepper, salt, and the chopped white meat of the fowl, rubbing it through a sieve.
Mix well and add a little of this mixture to the boiling stock.
Return all to the kettle and let it come to a boil again.
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.
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Pepper + meattop 19% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together8,777 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).
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Cream + peppertop 23% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together21,449 recipes
Shared aroma: acetic acid (sour, vinegar).
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Cream + meattop 24% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together2,248 recipes
Shared aroma: 1-octen-3-one (mushroom, metallic).
Cream and pepper barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 21,449 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
- Cream
- Adds richness and a smooth, velvety texture to the soup.
- Chopped white meat of fowl
- Adds flavor and body, and is rubbed through a sieve to give a smooth texture.
The step that matters
Add the cream mixture to the boiling stock gradually. Cream is rich in fat and milk proteins, which can curdle or separate when suddenly exposed to very hot liquid. Adding a small amount first helps the mixture warm evenly before the rest is combined, and returning the soup to a boil should be done carefully for the same reason.
“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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