Chicken-Almond Casserole

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.

1. Mushroom + chickentop 4% of all pairs
   Smell alikemoderate
   Cooked together4,172 recipes

   Shared aroma: 1-butyl acetate (fruity, banana).

2. Rice + chickentop 5% of all pairs
   Smell alikemoderate
   Cooked together4,769 recipes

   Shared aroma: (e,e)-2,4-decadienal (fatty, deep fried).

3. Almond + ricetop 6% of all pairs
   Smell alikestrong
   Cooked together1,456 recipes

   Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).

4. Butter + milktop 7% of all pairs
   Smell alikemoderate
   Cooked together81,283 recipes

   Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).

5. Butter + mushroomtop 7% of all pairs
   Smell alikemoderate
   Cooked together12,525 recipes

   Shared aroma: trans-2-decenal (waxy, orange).

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

What each ingredient does

Uncooked rice

Absorbs the liquid and softens as it bakes, giving the casserole its body.

Cream of mushroom soup

Forms a thick, creamy sauce that binds the casserole together.

Milk

Thins the soup into a sauce and adds richness as the rice cooks.

Butter or margarine

Adds fat and toasts the almonds for a nutty, browned flavor.

Slivered almonds

Contribute toasted flavor and a crunchy texture in the finished dish.

Chopped cooked chicken

Provides the main protein and savory flavor of the dish.

The step that matters

Swap the almond

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (butter, rice, onion, mushroom, milk, cream, chicken):

1. Peanutfits better
2. Sesamefits better
3. Beansfits better
4. Almondthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against butter, rice, onion, mushroom, milk, cream, chicken. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.