Steamed Chicken

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. Pepper + parsleytop 2% of all pairs
   Smell alikestrong
   Cooked together34,122 recipes

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

2. Bread + buttertop 7% of all pairs
   Smell alikemoderate
   Cooked together27,232 recipes

   Shared aroma: delta-decalactone (sweet, creamy).

3. Butter + creamtop 8% of all pairs
   Smell alikemoderate
   Cooked together41,516 recipes

   Shared aroma: delta-dodecalactone (sweet, creamy).

4. Butter + flourtop 12% of all pairs
   Smell alikelow
   Cooked together124,287 recipes

   Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).

5. Flour + parsleytop 12% of all pairs
   Smell alikemoderate
   Cooked together16,675 recipes

   Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).

Butter and flour barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 124,287 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

Oysters

Add briny flavour and a tender texture to the stuffing.

Beaten egg

Thickens the sauce as it is heated, giving it body.

Flour

Thickens the sauce together with the butter, giving it body.

Cream

Adds richness and smoothness to the sauce.

Bread crumbs

Give the stuffing bulk and absorb moisture from the oysters.

The step that matters

Swap the parsley

The recipe marks parsley as optional. How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (bread, pepper, butter, oyster, egg, flour, cream):

1. Nutmegfits better
2. Parsleythe original
3. Capersfits about as well
4. Tarragonfits less well

Fit is the average pairing score against bread, pepper, butter, oyster, egg, flour, cream. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.