Cathy's Chicken 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. Pepper + lemontop 3% of all pairs
   Smell alikestrong
   Cooked together27,047 recipes

   Shared aroma: trans-2-nonenal (cardboard, fatty).

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

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

3. Pepper + mushroomtop 11% of all pairs
   Smell alikemoderate
   Cooked together13,580 recipes

   Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).

4. Flour + buttertop 12% of all pairs
   Smell alikelow
   Cooked together124,287 recipes

   Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).

5. Butter + saucetop 15% of all pairs
   Smell alikelow
   Cooked together15,338 recipes

   Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).

Flour and butter 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

What each ingredient does

Flour

Coats the chicken, helping the surface brown and thickening the juices slightly.

Unsalted butter

Adds fat and richness, carrying flavour and keeping the chicken moist as it bakes.

Fresh button mushrooms

Add savoury earthy flavour and moisture that releases into the casserole as it cooks.

Fresh lemon juice

Adds acidity that brightens the rich chicken and mushroom flavours.

Swap the lemon

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

1. Avocadofits about as well
2. Lemonthe original
3. Limefits about as well
4. Plumfits about as well

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