Why it works: Flour and pepper are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 19% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 50,459 recipes. Both carry isobutyraldehyde, which smells malty, green. The science ↓
Spanish Chicken
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare and bake
Split tender broilers in halves, rub with salt, and sprinkle over with finely chopped cloves and Spanish peppers.
Over all put thin strips of bacon or salt pork.
Bake in a hot oven till the chicken is tender.
Watch carefully that it does not burn.
If necessary, add a little water.
Make the gravy and serve
When tender, remove from the pan, add two tablespoonfuls of flour to the fat left in the pan and one cup of thin cream, one-fourth cup of water; cook on top of stove for five minutes, stirring all the time.
Season to taste if salt or pepper is required.
Pour around the chickens.
Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)
Counts 4 of 5 ingredients. The other 1 aren't in our nutrition table and add nothing above, so the real totals are higher.
What these numbers assume: 4 portions
| Ingredient | Portion assumed | kcal |
|---|---|---|
| Flour | 1 cup (125g) all-purpose | 455 |
| Cream | 1 tbsp (15ml) heavy | 51 |
| Black Pepper | 1 tsp ground (2.3g) | 6 |
| Salt | 1 tsp (6g) | 0 |
| Water | not in our table | 0 |
One typical portion per ingredient; the recipe's quantities are not counted. A rough guide only, not for medical or dietary planning.
Transcribed from a scanned cookbook and modernised for today's kitchens. Where the book gave no heat or time, or said "a moderate oven", the temperatures and times here may be modern equivalents rather than the book's own figures. See the original page.
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.
-
Flour + peppertop 19% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together50,459 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
-
Flour + creamtop 20% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together30,481 recipes
Shared aroma: acetaldehyde (pungent, ethereal).
-
Cream + peppertop 23% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together21,449 recipes
Shared aroma: acetic acid (sour, vinegar).
Cream and pepper barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 21,449 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
- Thickens the pan fat and cream into a smooth gravy as it cooks.
- Thin cream
- Adds richness and body to the pan sauce.
- Bacon or salt pork
- Bastes the chicken with fat as it bakes, keeping the meat moist.
The step that matters
Watch the chicken so it does not burn. Chicken rubbed with chopped garlic and peppers and covered with bacon can scorch in a hot oven before the thick meat cooks through. Adding a little water when needed keeps the pan moist and the meat tender.
“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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