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 ↓
Chicken Roly-poly
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare the dough
Mix one quart of flour with two teaspoonfuls of cream tartar.
Dissolve one teaspoonful of soda in a teacupful of milk.
Add a teaspoonful of salt to the mixture.
Do not use shortening of any kind.
Roll out the mixture half an inch thick.
Fill and steam
Lay minced chicken, veal or mutton on the rolled dough.
Season the meat with pepper and salt and ensure it is free from gristle.
Roll the crust over and over.
Place the rolled pastry on a buttered plate.
Steam the pastry for half an hour.
Serve
Serve for breakfast or lunch, giving a slice to each person with gravy served with it.
Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)
What these numbers assume: 6 portions
| Ingredient | Portion assumed | kcal |
|---|---|---|
| Flour | 1 cup (125g) all-purpose | 455 |
| Milk | 1 cup (244ml) whole | 149 |
| Cream | 1 tbsp (15ml) heavy | 51 |
| Sugar | 1 tbsp (12.5g) granulated | 49 |
| 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).
-
Cream + milktop 18% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together29,399 recipes
Shared aroma: delta-dodecalactone (sweet, creamy).
-
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).
-
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
- Flour
- Forms the structure of the dough that holds the filling during steaming.
- Cream tartar
- Acidifies the dough so that soda reacts and helps it rise.
- Soda
- Reacts with the acid in the cream tartar to release gas, lightening the dough.
- Milk
- Hydrates the flour and soda, forming a soft, pliable dough.
- Minced chicken, veal or mutton (in the method)
- Provides the savoury filling that is enclosed within the rolled crust.
The step that matters
Roll the crust over and over. Rolling the dough around the filling must be done without tearing, because gaps let juices escape and the meat dries during steaming.
“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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