Name: Chicken with Pimiento Rice
Ingredients: 2 to 2-1/2 pounds frying chicken, cut up; 1/2 teaspoon salt; 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper; 2 tablespoons butter or margarine; 1/3 cup minced onion; 2 tablespoons dry sherry; 1/4 cup flour; 1 1/2 cups sour cream; 1 1/2 cups chicken broth; 2 tomatoes, peeled and finely chopped; 1 bay leaf; 3 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley; 3 tablespoons chopped pimientos; 3 cups hot cooked rice

Why it works: Pepper and tomato are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 7% of all ingredient pairs, and 17,923 recipes mention both. Both carry 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine, which smells earthy, pea. The science ↓

Explore the science

The flavor team

The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much aroma chemistry they share, and how many recipes mention both.

Pepper + tomatotop 7% of all pairs

Aroma overlapmoderate

Mentioned together17,923 recipes

Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
Butter + creamtop 8% of all pairs

Aroma overlapmoderate

Mentioned together41,516 recipes

Shared aroma: delta-dodecalactone (sweet, creamy).
Onion + tomatotop 8% of all pairs

Aroma overlapmoderate

Mentioned together20,633 recipes

Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
Chicken + tomatotop 8% of all pairs

Aroma overlapmoderate

Mentioned together6,031 recipes

Shared aroma: 3-hexenal (apple, fruity).
Chicken + oniontop 8% of all pairs

Aroma overlapmoderate

Mentioned together17,814 recipes

Shared aroma: gamma-nonanolactone (coconut, sweet).

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

What each ingredient does

Frying chicken: Provides the main protein, which browns in butter and becomes tender as it simmers in the sauce.
Butter or margarine: Adds fat for browning the chicken and gives the pan flavor for the sauce.
Flour: Thickens the sauce when cooked with the pan fats and liquids.
Sour cream: Adds richness and a tangy acidity, and helps make the sauce creamy.
Chicken broth: Forms the liquid base of the sauce and carries its savory flavor.
Tomatoes: Add moisture and mild acidity that brighten the sauce.

The step that matters

Blend flour into the sauce and cook until golden brown. Flour must be cooked in the fat long enough to lose its raw taste and thicken evenly; stirring it in smoothly before adding liquid prevents lumps.

Flavor stand-ins for the tomato

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (chicken, pepper, butter, onion, sherry, flour, cream):

Potatobetter flavor fit
Leekbetter flavor fit
Capsicumbetter flavor fit
Tomatothe original

Fit is the average pairing score against chicken, pepper, butter, onion, sherry, flour, cream. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes. This compares flavor only: it does not check the job the ingredient does in the dish (bulk, moisture, acidity, structure).

“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.

Chicken with Pimiento Rice