Why it works: Butter and cream are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 8% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 41,516 recipes. Both carry delta-dodecalactone, which smells sweet, creamy. The science ↓
Asparagus Soup
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare the asparagus
Remove the tender parts and points from the asparagus, setting the points aside.
Blanch the remaining asparagus in boiling water with a little salt for three minutes, then drain.
Boil the asparagus points in salted water until tender.
Make the soup
In a clean three-quart saucepan, melt the butter and flour together.
Add the blanched asparagus and stir for about five minutes.
Pour in the white stock and simmer until the asparagus is cooked.
Strain the mixture into another saucepan, purée the asparagus, and return it to the soup.
Boil steadily for 15 to 20 minutes, skimming if necessary.
Serve
Pour the soup into a tureen, add the asparagus points, and mix in the butter and cream 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 their aromas overlap, and how often cooks already put them together.
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Butter + creamtop 8% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together41,516 recipes
Shared aroma: delta-dodecalactone (sweet, creamy).
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Butter + flourtop 12% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together124,287 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Asparagus + flourtop 12% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together936 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Asparagus + buttertop 17% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together2,026 recipes
Shared aroma: trans-2-nonenal (cardboard, fatty).
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Flour + creamtop 20% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together30,481 recipes
Shared aroma: acetaldehyde (pungent, ethereal).
Butter and flour barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 124,287 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
- Asparagus
- Provides the main flavour and, when puréed, the body of the soup.
- Butter
- Adds richness and carries flavour, and is stirred in just before serving.
- Flour
- Cooked with the butter to form a roux that thickens the soup.
- White stock
- Forms the liquid base of the soup and carries the asparagus flavour.
- Cream
- Adds richness and a smooth, velvety texture at the end.
The step that matters
Boil steadily for 15 to 20 minutes, skimming if necessary. A steady boil reduces the soup and concentrates its flavour, while skimming removes foam and impurities that would otherwise cloud the soup and taste bitter.
Swap the asparagus
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (butter, flour, cream):
- Leekfits better
- Arrowrootfits better
- Chivefits better
- Asparagusthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against butter, flour, cream. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.
“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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