Why it works: Parsley and pepper match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 2% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 34,122 recipes. Both carry 4'-methylacetophenone, which smells bitter almond. The science ↓
Chicken Broth
Ingredients
Directions
Make the broth
Combine the cold water and chicken in a large pot.
Cook slowly until the water reduces to about 3.5 quarts and the chicken is tender.
Remove the chicken meat from the bones.
Return the bones to the pot.
Continue cooking gently.
One hour before serving, strain the broth.
Let the broth cool and skim off the fat.
Return the broth to the heat.
Add the seasoning and rice, and simmer for 30 minutes or until the rice is soft.
Make the egg mixture
In a separate pot, heat the milk with a pinch of baking soda.
Gradually pour the milk over the beaten eggs, stirring constantly.
Return the mixture to the heat and stir until it begins to thicken.
Combine and serve
Pour into a serving tureen.
Bring the chicken broth to a boil.
Add the broth to the milk mixture in the tureen, stirring well.
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.
Photo for illustrative purposes only · Contact us to use it
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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Parsley + peppertop 2% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together34,122 recipes
Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).
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Chicken + ricetop 5% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together4,769 recipes
Shared aroma: (e,e)-2,4-decadienal (fatty, deep fried).
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Rice + milktop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together7,374 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
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Rice + parsleytop 10% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together2,762 recipes
Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).
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Rice + peppertop 12% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together8,379 recipes
Shared aroma: trans-2-nonenal (cardboard, fatty).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Chicken
- Gives the broth its body and savory flavor as it cooks down with the bones.
- Rice
- Softens and releases starch, adding body and thickness to the broth.
- Milk
- Adds richness and a creamy, smooth texture to the finished broth.
- Eggs
- Thicken the mixture gently when heated, giving the broth a silky body.
The step that matters
Gradually pour the milk over the beaten eggs, stirring constantly.. Eggs scramble when they meet heat too quickly. Adding the hot milk slowly while stirring gently warms the eggs, so they thicken smoothly instead of curdling.
Swap the parsley
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (chicken, rice, pepper, milk, egg):
- Turmericfits about as well
- Cinnamonfits about as well
- Nutmegfits about as well
- Parsleythe original
Fit is the average pairing score against chicken, rice, pepper, milk, egg. 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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