Why it works: Flour and watercress match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 7% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 340 recipes. Both carry isobutyraldehyde, which smells malty, green. The science ↓
Woodcock, Roast
Ingredients
Directions
Pluck the woodcocks carefully, leaving the neck and head intact. Truss them securely without opening.
Fasten the woodcocks, feet downwards, to a spit and place them over a brisk, clear fire.
Flour the woodcocks and baste them liberally with dripping or butter.
After about five minutes, place a buttered toast under them to catch the drippings.
Hold a dish under the woodcocks while basting.
When the steam draws to the fire, they are done. Serve with a piece of toast under each and garnish with watercress.
Serve melted butter or orange gravy in a tureen.
For added flavor, cover the woodcocks with bacon slices before roasting and place vine leaves under the bacon if desired.
Roast for 15-20 minutes for underdone, or 25-30 minutes for well done.
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.
-
Flour + watercresstop 7% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together340 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
-
Flour + buttertop 12% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together124,287 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
-
Butter + watercresstop 24% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together842 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
Flour and butter 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
You might also like
Tomato Soup526 recipes
Brown Bread461 recipes
Mutton Broth292 recipes
Yorkshire Pudding264 recipesThe free Flavor Lab newsletter: one surprising pairing a week and the molecular reason it works, in 60 seconds. No spam, unsubscribe anytime.
Prefer an account? Create a free account to save pairings and unlock the full chemistry.