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First Prize

A hearty chicken soup with tomatoes, beans, corn, potatoes, celery, onions, and spices.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
By Chapel, Inie Gage, Mrs. [from old catalog] · From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 31 ingredients
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Why it works: Onion and potato are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 3% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 9,023 recipes. Both carry 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine, which smells earthy, pea. The science ↓

First Prize

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare

  1. Cut the chicken into small pieces.

  2. Place water in a large kettle and boil for three minutes.

Make the soup

  1. Add onions, beans, corn, potatoes, chicken, and spices.

  2. Cover tightly and cook slowly for two and a half hours, stirring frequently from the bottom.

  3. Add tomatoes, sugar, and celery, and cook for another half to three-quarters of an hour.

Finish and serve

  1. Fifteen minutes before serving, add the milk and the noodles.

  2. Serve the thick soup in large dishes or plates.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

744Calories
52 gProtein
32 gFat
66 gCarbs
What these numbers assume: 12 portions
IngredientPortion assumedkcal
Chicken100g cooked165
Potato1 medium (173g) baked161
Milk1 cup (244ml) whole149
Olive Oil1 tbsp (14g)119
Egg1 large egg (50g)78
Onion1 medium (110g)44
Chili1 tsp (2.7g)8
Celery1 stalk (40g)6
Pepper1 tsp ground (2.3g)6
Black Pepper1 tsp ground (2.3g)6
Bay Leaf1 leaf (0.6g)2
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.

By Chapel, Inie Gage, Mrs. [from old catalog]. Recipe from a historical cookbook (Internet Archive).

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.

  1. Onion + potatotop 3% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together9,023 recipes

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

  2. Celery + peppertop 5% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together16,012 recipes

    Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).

  3. Celery + potatotop 7% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together2,047 recipes

    Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).

  4. Celery + oniontop 7% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together18,518 recipes

    Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).

  5. Chicken + potatotop 7% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together2,756 recipes

    Shared aroma: (z)-4-decenal (green, must).

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

What each ingredient does

Chicken
Provides the main meat and savory flavor as it cooks slowly into the soup.
Potatoes
Break down during long cooking to thicken the soup and add body.
Milk
Adds creaminess and softness, added late so it does not curdle over long cooking.
Onion
Builds a sweet, aromatic base as it softens in the broth.
Celery
Adds a fresh, herbal aroma and subtle savory depth to the soup.

The step that matters

Cook slowly, covered, and stir from the bottom. Starchy ingredients settle and scorch easily on the bottom of a pot during long, slow cooking. Stirring from the bottom and keeping the lid on the pot maintains even heat and moisture, so the soup thickens without burning.

Swap the celery

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (milk, egg, chicken, pepper, onion, potato):

  1. Garlicfits better
  2. Thymefits about as well
  3. Parsleyfits about as well
  4. Celerythe original

Fit is the average pairing score against milk, egg, chicken, pepper, onion, potato. 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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