Name: Grandmother's Pressed Chicken
Ingredients: 1 whole chicken, cut into pieces; cold water, enough to cover chicken; salt, to taste; pepper, to taste; butter, 2 tablespoons; 2 tin tubes, 3 in. in diameter and 8 in. long; 2 polished wooden sticks, for pressing

Why it works: Chicken and butter are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 15% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 13,902 recipes. Both carry 2-furfurylthiol, which smells coffee, roasted. The science ↓

Grandmother's Pressed Chicken

Ingredients

1 whole chicken, cut into pieces
cold water, enough to cover chicken
salt, to taste
pepper, to taste
butter, 2 tablespoons
2 tin tubes, 3 in. in diameter and 8 in. long
2 polished wooden sticks, for pressing

Directions

Cook the chicken

Place chicken pieces in a kettle and cover with cold water.
Skim off any scum that rises to the surface.
Boil until the chicken is tender and falls from the bones.
Remove chicken and ensure the water has reduced by 1 teacup; boil if necessary.

Prepare the filling

Remove bones and gristle from the chicken and shred it finely.
Season with salt, pepper, and butter.
If the chicken is fatty, skim off excess oil.
Stir in the cooking liquid and mix well.

Press and chill

Pack the chicken mixture into the tin tubes.
Insert the polished sticks into the tubes and place a light weight on top.
Refrigerate until very cold, then remove from tubes and slice into ½ inch thick pieces.

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.

Chicken + buttertop 15% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together13,902 recipes

Shared aroma: 2-furfurylthiol (coffee, roasted).
Chicken + peppertop 16% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together19,958 recipes

Shared aroma: piperonal (bitter, coconut).
Pepper + buttertop 21% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together85,593 recipes

Shared aroma: trans-2-nonenal (cardboard, fatty).

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

What each ingredient does

Chicken: Provides the protein and body that holds the pressed loaf together once cooled.
Cooking liquid (in the method): Adds moisture and gelatin-rich body so the shredded chicken binds and sets when chilled.
Butter: Adds fat and richness, improving flavor and mouthfeel of the shredded chicken.

The step that matters

Refrigerate until very cold before slicing. The gelatin released from the bones and gristle must cool and set fully to bind the shredded meat. Slicing too early crumbles the loaf and it will not hold its shape.

“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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Grandmother's Pressed Chicken