Why it works: Mushroom and sherry are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 5% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 1,176 recipes. Both carry 2-methoxy-4-methylphenol, which smells smoky, clove. The science ↓
To Stew Canned Mushrooms
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare
Drain the mushrooms.
Make the stew
In a saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat.
Stir in the flour until smooth.
Add the boiling milk and stir until it boils for 2 minutes.
Add the mushrooms, salt, and pepper, stirring until heated through.
Remove from heat and stir in the beaten egg yolk mixed with sherry.
Serve
Serve on buttered toast or thin slices of fried bread.
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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Mushroom + sherrytop 5% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together1,176 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-methoxy-4-methylphenol (smoky, clove).
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Butter + milktop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together81,283 recipes
Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).
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Mushroom + buttertop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together12,525 recipes
Shared aroma: trans-2-decenal (waxy, orange).
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Mushroom + peppertop 11% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together13,580 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
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Mushroom + milktop 12% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together2,231 recipes
Shared aroma: 1-hexanal (fruit).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Egg yolk
- Thickens the sauce and adds richness when gently stirred in off the heat.
- Flour
- Combined with butter to form a roux that thickens the milk into a smooth sauce.
- Milk or cream
- Forms the liquid base of the sauce and adds creaminess.
- Butter
- Adds fat and flavor and forms the base of the roux.
- Sherry
- Adds acidity and aroma to the sauce.
The step that matters
Stir in the egg yolk off the heat. Egg yolk thickens by gentle heat and can scramble if it boils. Removing the pan from the heat before adding the yolk and sherry mixture helps keep the sauce smooth and creamy.
“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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