Why it works: Flour and milk are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 14% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 78,219 recipes. Both carry isobutyraldehyde, which smells malty, green. The science ↓
Fried Chicken
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare the chicken
Clean, dress, and cut up the chicken.
Roll the chicken in salt, pepper, and flour.
Fry
Put 1 tablespoon each of lard and butter in a skillet.
When the skillet is hot, add the chicken and fry slowly for an hour or more until done.
Transfer the chicken to a hot platter.
Make the gravy and serve
Pour off most of the fat from the pan.
Add 1 tablespoon flour to the pan and stir until smooth.
Add 1 cup milk or cream, salt, and pepper to taste, stir well, and pour over the chicken.
Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)
What these numbers assume: 5 portions
| Ingredient | Portion assumed | kcal |
|---|---|---|
| Flour | 1 cup (125g) all-purpose | 455 |
| Milk | 1 cup (244ml) whole | 149 |
| Lard | 1 tbsp (12.8g) | 115 |
| Black Pepper | 1 tsp ground (2.3g) | 6 |
| 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.
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 + milktop 14% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together78,219 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
-
Flour + peppertop 19% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together50,459 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
-
Milk + peppertop 22% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together26,984 recipes
Shared aroma: ethyl 2-methylbutyrate (fruity, apple).
Flour and milk 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
- Chicken (in the method)
- Provides the main meat, which turns tender and cooked through during slow frying.
- Flour
- Coats the chicken to form a crust and later thickens the milk into gravy.
- Milk
- Combines with the flour and pan drippings to make a creamy, thickened gravy.
- Lard
- Fat for frying that browns the chicken and carries flavor into the crust.
The step that matters
Frying slowly until done. Frying over low heat for a long time lets the chicken cook through to the bone without the crust burning. Too high a heat can brown the outside while leaving the inside undercooked.
“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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