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Autumn Chicken and Apple Stew

A stew of chicken, apples, carrots, cabbage, and spices simmered in broth and apple cider vinegar.

From the Recipes Wiki (Fandom) · 12 ingredients
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Why it works: Nutmeg and clove match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 8,686 recipes. Both carry estragole, which smells anise, licorice. The science ↓

Autumn Chicken and Apple Stew

Ingredients

Directions

Brown the chicken

  1. Spray a large Dutch oven with vegetable cooking spray and heat over medium-high.

  2. Add chicken and cook, browning all sides, for about 10 minutes. Sprinkle with nutmeg, salt and pepper.

  3. Spread Dijon mustard over chicken pieces; add warm broth, vinegar, cloves and carrots; bring to a boil.

Simmer

  1. Cover, reduce heat to low and cook 15 minutes.

  2. Add apples, cook 5 minutes, then add cabbage, stirring into liquid.

  3. Cook covered about 10 minutes or until a fork enters the chicken easily.

Finish and serve

  1. Remove chicken and vegetables with a slotted spoon to a warm serving bowl.

  2. Stir applesauce into the liquid. Boil for 5 minutes.

  3. Pour over chicken and vegetables.

  4. Serve with rice, if desired.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

371Calories
36 gProtein
6 gFat
46 gCarbs
What these numbers assume: 10 portions
IngredientPortion assumedkcal
Chicken100g cooked165
Apple1 medium (182g)95
Broccoli1 cup chopped (156g)55
Carrot1 medium (61g)25
Nutmeg1 tsp ground (2.2g)12
Clove1 tsp ground (2g)7
Black Pepper1 tsp ground (2.3g)6
Mustard1 tsp (5g) yellow3
Vinegar1 tbsp (15ml) distilled3
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. Nutmeg + clovetop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together8,686 recipes

    Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).

  2. Pepper + clovetop 5% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together17,451 recipes

    Shared aroma: ethyl octanoate (fruity, wine).

  3. Clove + carrottop 5% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together5,873 recipes

    Shared aroma: cuminaldehyde (Spicy, cumin).

  4. Pepper + carrottop 6% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together14,555 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).

  5. Nutmeg + carrottop 6% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together1,424 recipes

    Shared aroma: myristicin (spice, warm).

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

What each ingredient does

Chicken
Browning and then slow cooking makes the meat tender and flavorful as it absorbs the broth.
Granny smith apples
Their tartness and firm flesh hold shape while adding sweetness and acidity to the stew.
Applesauce
Thickens the cooking liquid and adds fruity sweetness and body to the sauce.
Carrots
Add natural sweetness and firm texture that holds up during long simmering.
Apple cider vinegar
Adds acidity that brightens the broth and balances the sweetness of the apples.
Dijon mustard
Adds sharp, tangy flavor and helps season the chicken as it cooks.

The step that matters

Browning the chicken. Cooking the chicken until all sides are well browned creates Maillard flavor compounds that deepen the stew's savory taste. Pale chicken yields a flatter, less complex broth.

Swap the apple

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (chicken, nutmeg, pepper, mustard, apple cider vinegar, clove, carrot):

  1. Limefits better
  2. Lemonfits better
  3. Avocadofits better
  4. Applethe original

Fit is the average pairing score against chicken, nutmeg, pepper, mustard, apple cider vinegar, clove, carrot. 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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