Why it works: Butter and flour are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 12% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 124,287 recipes. Both carry isobutyraldehyde, which smells malty, green. The science ↓
Chicken Pie
Ingredients
Directions
The book says “a quick oven”. The 400°F (200°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.
Cook the chicken
Joint the chickens and boil them in enough water to cover.
When nearly done, remove the chickens and place them in a deep pudding dish lined with pie crust.
Assemble and bake
Add ½ cup of the boiling liquid, butter, and salt.
Sprinkle flour over the mixture, cover with pie crust, and decorate the top with pastry.
Bake in a 400°F (200°C) oven for one hour.
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.
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.
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Butter + flourtop 12% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together124,287 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Chicken + buttertop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together13,902 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-furfurylthiol (coffee, roasted).
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Chicken + flourtop 27% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together10,559 recipes
Shared aroma: acetaldehyde (pungent, ethereal).
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
- Chicken
- Supplies the main meat, and boiling it creates the flavorful liquid that moistens the filling.
- Butter
- Adds fat and richness, helping the filling taste rounded and feel smooth.
- Flour
- Thickens the cooking liquid as it heats, so the filling holds together when served.
- Pie crust
- Forms the lining and cover that contain the filling while it bakes.
The step that matters
Sprinkle the flour evenly. Flour needs to disperse through the hot liquid and butter without clumping. Its starch thickens the liquid as it heats, so an even layer gives a smooth filling rather than pockets of raw flour.
“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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