Why it works: Chicken and potato are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 7% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 2,756 recipes. Both carry (z)-4-decenal, which smells green, must. The science ↓
White Soup
Ingredients
Directions
Make the soup
Beat the egg yolks and cream together in a tureen.
Slowly pour in the boiling chicken broth while stirring.
Season with salt to taste and serve with croutons.
Optional variation
For a variation, rub the mashed potato with a little cold broth to make a paste.
Stir the potato paste into the boiling broth before pouring it over the cream.
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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Chicken + potatotop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together2,756 recipes
Shared aroma: (z)-4-decenal (green, must).
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Cream + potatotop 17% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together2,481 recipes
Shared aroma: 1-octen-3-one (mushroom, metallic).
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Chicken + creamtop 23% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together6,241 recipes
Shared aroma: 1-octen-3-one (mushroom, metallic).
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Cream + eggtop 24% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together42,166 recipes
Shared aroma: acetic acid (sour, vinegar).
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Egg + potatotop 29% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together4,978 recipes
Shared aroma: (e)-2-octenal (fatty, green).
Cream and egg barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 42,166 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
- Egg yolks
- Enrich and thicken the cream base as they set gently with the hot broth.
- Cream
- Adds richness and a smooth, mellow body to the soup.
- Chicken broth
- Forms the liquid base of the soup and carries its savory flavor.
- Mashed potato
- Optional thickener that adds body and a slightly starchy texture.
The step that matters
Pouring in the boiling broth. Adding boiling broth slowly while stirring keeps the egg yolks from scrambling. Gradual tempering warms the yolks evenly so the soup stays smooth and thick.
Swap the potato
The recipe marks potato as optional. How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (chicken, cream, egg):
- Potatothe original
- Asparagusfits about as well
- Leekfits about as well
- Spinachfits about as well
Fit is the average pairing score against chicken, cream, egg. 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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