Why it works: Pepper and parsley match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 2% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 34,122 recipes. Both carry 4'-methylacetophenone, which smells bitter almond. The science ↓
To Stew Pigeons
Ingredients
Directions
Quarter the pigeons and place them in a stewpan with a little coarse sea salt and enough cold water to barely cover them. Cover the stewpan tightly.
When nearly cooked, add a bit of butter and some pepper.
Once fully cooked, transfer the pigeons to a hot dish.
Thicken the gravy with flour rubbed smooth in a little of the gravy, then add chopped parsley, another bit of butter, and a beaten egg.
For a richer flavor, add cream to the gravy.
Return the pigeons to the gravy, let them sit for a few moments, then serve.
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.
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Pepper + parsleytop 2% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together34,122 recipes
Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).
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Butter + creamtop 8% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together41,516 recipes
Shared aroma: delta-dodecalactone (sweet, creamy).
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Butter + flourtop 12% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together124,287 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Flour + parsleytop 12% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together16,675 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Butter + parsleytop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together28,563 recipes
Shared aroma: trans-2-hexenal (green, leafy).
Butter and flour barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 124,287 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
Swap the parsley
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (butter, pepper, flour, egg, cream):
- Nutmegfits better
- Parsleythe original
- Tarragonfits about as well
- Capersfits about as well
Fit is the average pairing score against butter, pepper, flour, egg, cream. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.
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