Name: Brussels Sprouts
Ingredients: Brussels sprouts (small, not larger than a walnut); Coarse sea salt; Thick slices of toasted bread; Butter; Rich melted butter (for serving)

Why it works: Bread and butter are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 7% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 27,232 recipes. Both carry delta-decalactone, which smells sweet, creamy. The science ↓

Brussels Sprouts

Ingredients

Brussels sprouts (small, not larger than a walnut)
Coarse sea salt
Thick slices of toasted bread
Butter
Rich melted butter (for serving)

Directions

Trim and wash the Brussels sprouts thoroughly.
Boil the sprouts in salted water for 8 to 10 minutes.
Drain the sprouts well.
Serve the sprouts on buttered toasted bread.
Accompany with rich melted butter.

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.

Bread + buttertop 7% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together27,232 recipes

Shared aroma: delta-decalactone (sweet, creamy).
Walnut + buttertop 15% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together6,832 recipes

Shared aroma: eucalyptol (eucalyptus, herbal).
Walnut + breadtop 17% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together714 recipes

Shared aroma: 2-undecenal (sweet).
Brussels sprouts + walnuttop 27% of all pairs

Smell alikelow

Cooked together5 recipes

Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).
Brussels sprouts + buttertop 34% of all pairs

Smell alikelow

Cooked together20 recipes

Shared aroma: trans-2-hexenal (green, leafy).