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Timbale of Asparagus

A steamed dish of asparagus, ham, and eggs baked in a buttered mold.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 8 ingredients
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Why it works: Butter and milk are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 7% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 81,283 recipes. Both carry (z)-4-heptenal, which smells biscuit, cream. The science ↓

Timbale of Asparagus

Ingredients

Directions

Make the batter

  1. Cream the butter in a mixing bowl.

  2. Stir in the flour, beaten eggs, and milk until well combined.

  3. Add the chopped asparagus, ham, pepper, and salt, mixing well.

Cook and serve

  1. Pour the mixture into a well-buttered mold.

  2. Steam for 1.5 hours.

  3. Serve with a creamy white sauce.

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.

  1. Butter + milktop 7% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together81,283 recipes

    Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).

  2. Asparagus + peppertop 10% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together1,968 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).

  3. Butter + flourtop 12% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together124,287 recipes

    Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).

  4. Asparagus + flourtop 12% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together936 recipes

    Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).

  5. Flour + milktop 14% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together78,219 recipes

    Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).

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

Eggs
Bind the mixture and set into a firm, sliceable custard when steamed.
Flour
Gives the timbale body and structure as it cooks.
Butter
Adds richness and a tender texture to the batter.
Milk
Loosens the batter and adds moisture for a tender set.
Asparagus
Provides the main vegetable flavor and moisture in the timbale.

The step that matters

Pour the mixture into a well-buttered mold. Eggs and flour can stick firmly to a mold, and the timbale may tear when unmolded. Thorough buttering creates a barrier so the set custard releases cleanly.

Swap the asparagus

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (butter, ham, flour, milk, egg, pepper):

  1. Asparagusthe original
  2. Potatofits about as well
  3. Capsicumfits about as well
  4. Leekfits about as well

Fit is the average pairing score against butter, ham, flour, milk, egg, pepper. 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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