Name: Cream of Celery Soup
Ingredients: 1 large stalk of celery, cut into small pieces; 2 pints water; Salt, to taste; White sauce (prepared separately); Grated onion, to taste

Why it works: Celery and onion are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 7% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 18,518 recipes. Both carry guaiacol, which smells smoky, sweet. The science ↓

Cream of Celery Soup

Ingredients

1 large stalk of celery, cut into small pieces
2 pints water
Salt, to taste
White sauce (prepared separately)
Grated onion, to taste

Directions

Bring 2 pints of water to a boil in a pot and add salt.
Add the celery pieces and cook until tender.
Drain the celery through a colander.
Combine the cooked celery with the white sauce, add grated onion, and season to taste.

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.

Celery + oniontop 7% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together18,518 recipes

Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).
Sauce + oniontop 19% of all pairs

Smell alikelow

Cooked together10,474 recipes

Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
Celery + saucetop 23% of all pairs

Smell alikelow

Cooked together2,360 recipes

Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).

Sauce and onion barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 10,474 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

Celery: Provides the main flavor and body of the soup as it softens during cooking.
White sauce: Adds creaminess and thickness, giving the soup its cream texture.
Grated onion: Adds savory aroma and depth of flavor to the soup.