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Asparagus Timbales

A baked dish of asparagus and eggs served in cups.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 7 ingredients
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Why it works: Butter and bread 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 ↓

Asparagus Timbales

Ingredients

Directions

The book gives no oven temperature. The 350°F (175°C) in the steps was added when the recipe was transcribed, as a starting point.

Prepare

  1. If using fresh asparagus, cook for at least 20 minutes and lift out carefully.

  2. Butter timbale cups and sprinkle with grated bread crumbs.

  3. Line the cups with asparagus tips, flower end down, ensuring stems do not extend over the tops.

Make the custard

  1. Beat the eggs and add the cream.

  2. Mix the pressed asparagus and rolled cracker into the egg mixture.

  3. Pour the mixture into the prepared cups.

Bake and serve

  1. Place the cups in a pan half filled with water.

  2. Bake in a 350°F (175°C) oven for 15 to 20 minutes.

  3. Turn out and serve with chicken or chops.

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 + breadtop 7% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together27,232 recipes

    Shared aroma: delta-decalactone (sweet, creamy).

  2. Cream + buttertop 8% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together41,516 recipes

    Shared aroma: delta-dodecalactone (sweet, creamy).

  3. Asparagus + breadtop 13% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together363 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).

  4. Egg + breadtop 13% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together22,662 recipes

    Shared aroma: (e)-2-octenal (fatty, green).

  5. Asparagus + eggtop 17% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together1,338 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

Eggs
Set the custard so the timbales hold their shape when turned out.
Thin cream
Adds moisture and richness, giving the custard a smooth, tender texture.
Asparagus
Provides the main flavor and, pressed through a ricer, body to the custard.
Soda cracker
Adds starch that helps thicken the custard and hold its structure.

The step that matters

Bake in a water bath. The pan of water surrounds the cups and moderates the heat, so the egg custard sets gently without curdling or becoming rubbery. Overbaking still causes the custard to toughen and weep, so check it at the low end of the time.

Swap the asparagus

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (egg, cream, butter, bread):

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

Fit is the average pairing score against egg, cream, butter, bread. 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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