Why it works: Butter and milk are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 7% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 81,283 recipes. Both carry (z)-4-heptenal, which smells biscuit, cream. The science ↓
Chicken Pudding
Ingredients
Directions
The book says “a hot oven”. The 350°F (175°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.
Prepare the chicken
Stew the chicken pieces until slightly cooked.
Place the chicken in a buttered dish with butter, pepper, salt, and some of the stewing water.
Make the batter and bake
In a bowl, mix the milk, eggs, and salt to make a batter.
Pour the batter over the chicken.
Bake in a preheated oven at 350°F (175°C) for 30 minutes.
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.
-
Butter + milktop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together81,283 recipes
Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).
-
Chicken + milktop 13% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together4,389 recipes
Shared aroma: 1-hexanal (fruit).
-
Chicken + buttertop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together13,902 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-furfurylthiol (coffee, roasted).
-
Chicken + peppertop 16% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together19,958 recipes
Shared aroma: piperonal (bitter, coconut).
-
Butter + eggtop 17% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together118,967 recipes
Shared aroma: decanal (soap, orange peel).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Eggs
- Set the batter into a custard that holds the chicken together as it bakes.
- Milk
- Forms the liquid base of the batter and keeps the pudding moist and tender.
- Butter
- Adds richness and fat that enriches the flavor and helps keep the dish from drying out.
The step that matters
Bake in a preheated oven at 350°F (175°C) for 30 minutes. Eggs set into a custard as they heat. Overbaking at high heat makes the custard curdle, weep, and turn rubbery, so the pudding should be removed once it is just set.
“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.
You might also like
The free Flavor Lab newsletter: one surprising pairing a week and the molecular reason it works, in 60 seconds. No spam, unsubscribe anytime.
Prefer an account? Create a free account to save pairings and unlock the full chemistry.
Chicken Broth257 recipes
Chicken Soup156 recipes
Creamed Chicken89 recipes
Chicken Panada75 recipes