Why it works: Potato and chicken are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 7% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 2,756 recipes. Both carry (z)-4-decenal, which smells green, must. The science ↓
Wonderful Chicken and Potato Dumplings
Ingredients
Directions
Make the dumplings
Boil the potatoes until soft.
Peel the potatoes and press them through a ricer.
Mix the potato mixture with milk, breadcrumbs, salt, and egg.
Mold the mixture into golf-ball sized balls.
Flour the dumplings.
Drop the dumplings into boiling water and boil for 10 minutes.
Make the chicken gravy and serve
Combine the chicken and gravy.
Heat the mixture through.
Serve the dumplings with gravy poured over the top.
Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)
What these numbers assume: 6 portions
| Ingredient | Portion assumed | kcal |
|---|---|---|
| Flour | 1 cup (125g) all-purpose | 455 |
| Chicken | 100g cooked | 165 |
| Potato | 1 medium (173g) baked | 161 |
| Milk | 1 cup (244ml) whole | 149 |
| Egg | 1 large egg (50g) | 78 |
| Salt | 1 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.
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.
-
Potato + chickentop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together2,756 recipes
Shared aroma: (z)-4-decenal (green, must).
-
Potato + milktop 9% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together3,611 recipes
Shared aroma: (e,z)-2,6-nonadienal (cucumber, melon).
-
Milk + chickentop 13% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together4,389 recipes
Shared aroma: 1-hexanal (fruit).
-
Milk + flourtop 14% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together78,219 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
-
Potato + flourtop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together5,355 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
Milk and flour barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 78,219 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
- Potatoes
- Mashed starch that gives the dumplings their soft, tender body.
- Egg
- Binds the potato mixture so the dumplings hold their shape.
- Breadcrumbs
- Absorb moisture and add body, helping the dumplings stay firm enough to shape.
- Milk
- Adds moisture so the potato mixture is soft and easy to shape.
- Flour
- Dusting on the dumplings helps keep their surface from sticking together.
- Chicken
- Provides the savory, meaty filling for the gravy.
The step that matters
Drop the dumplings into boiling water and boil for 10 minutes. Dumplings must be added to a rolling boil so their outside sets quickly and they do not fall apart or turn gummy. Boiling them for the full time cooks the starch through, so the centre is no longer raw.
Swap the potato
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (egg, milk, flour, chicken):
- Potatothe original
- Asparagusfits about as well
- Leekfits about as well
- Arrowrootfits about as well
Fit is the average pairing score against egg, milk, flour, chicken. 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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