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The Best Gravy Ever

A savory gravy made with chicken broth, vegetable oil, nutritional yeast, bouillon cube, mushrooms, onion salt, and flour.

From the Recipes Wiki (Fandom) · 7 ingredients
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Why it works: Chicken and mushroom are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 4% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 4,172 recipes. Both carry 1-butyl acetate, which smells fruity, banana. The science ↓

The Best Gravy Ever

Timeapproximately 5 minutes

Ingredients

Directions

  1. Simmer all ingredients except the flour for approximately 5 minutes.

  2. Slowly add the flour tablespoon by tablespoon, whisking after each addition, until desired thickness is reached.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

918Calories
47 gProtein
32 gFat
107 gCarbs
What these numbers assume: 7 portions
IngredientPortion assumedkcal
Flour1 cup (125g) all-purpose455
Chicken100g cooked165
Vegetable1 tbsp (14g)120
Olive Oil1 tbsp (14g)119
Onion1 medium (110g)44
Mushroom1/2 cup sliced (35g)15
Salt1 tsp (6g)0

One typical portion per ingredient; the recipe's quantities are not counted. A rough guide only, not for medical or dietary planning.

Recipe from the Recipes Wiki (Fandom).

Steps grouped into stages for easier reading; the method is the source's own.

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.

  1. Chicken + mushroomtop 4% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together4,172 recipes

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

  2. Chicken + oniontop 8% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together17,814 recipes

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

  3. Mushroom + oniontop 10% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together10,626 recipes

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

  4. Onion + flourtop 17% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together32,460 recipes

    Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).

  5. Mushroom + flourtop 18% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together8,253 recipes

    Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).

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

What each ingredient does

Unbleached all-purpose flour
Thickens the broth into gravy as its starch swells when heated and whisked in.
Nutritional yeast
Adds a savory, umami flavor that gives the gravy its meaty depth.
Mushrooms
Add moisture and savory, earthy flavor as they release their juices while simmering.
Vegetable oil
Carries fat-soluble flavor and gives the gravy a richer mouthfeel.

The step that matters

Adding the flour. Flour must be added gradually and whisked after each addition so its starch disperses evenly. Dumping it in at once forms lumps that are hard to smooth out, and the gravy thickens only as the starch swells in hot liquid.

Swap the onion

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (chicken, mushroom, flour):

  1. Shallotfits better
  2. Spinachfits better
  3. Asparagusfits better
  4. Onionthe original

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

“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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