Name: Farina Soup
Ingredients: 4 cups soup stock; 2 cups milk; 3 eggs; 4 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese

Why it works: Milk and parmesan cheese are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 15% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 1,608 recipes. Both carry ethyl 2-methylbutyrate, which smells fruity, apple. The science ↓

Farina Soup

Ingredients

4 cups soup stock
2 cups milk
3 eggs
4 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese

Directions

Heat and strain the soup stock, bringing it to a boil.
Scald the milk and beat the eggs lightly.
Gradually add the hot milk to the eggs, stirring constantly.
Heat and stir until the mixture thickens, then pour into a tureen.
Add the hot stock and stir in the grated Parmesan cheese.
Serve with additional grated cheese on the side.

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.

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.

Milk + parmesan cheesetop 15% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together1,608 recipes

Shared aroma: ethyl 2-methylbutyrate (fruity, apple).
Milk + eggtop 18% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together88,785 recipes

Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
Egg + parmesan cheesetop 18% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together3,368 recipes

Shared aroma: 1-octen-3-ol (mushroom, earthy).