Why it works: Thyme and lemon match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 2% of all ingredient pairs, and 3,973 recipes mention both. Both carry beta-phellandrene, which smells minty, terpene. The science ↓
The recipe
Ingredients
Contains: milk (auto-detected from the ingredients and method; we can miss things, so check labels)
Directions
The book gives no oven temperature. The 350°F (175°C) in the steps was added when the recipe was transcribed, as a starting point.
Prepare
Soak the macaroni until it softens.
Line the bottom of a bowl with the softened macaroni.
In a separate bowl, mix the minced chicken, butter, bay leaves, thyme, lemon juice, salt, and pepper.
Fill the macaroni-lined bowl with the chicken mixture.
Bake and serve
Cook in a moderate oven at 350°F (175°C) for one hour, as if it were a custard.
Serve with rich tomato sauce.
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 aroma chemistry they share, and how many recipes mention both.
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Thyme + lemontop 2% of all pairsAroma overlapstrongMentioned together3,973 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).
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Lemon + peppertop 2% of all pairsAroma overlapstrongMentioned together27,039 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
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Thyme + peppertop 3% of all pairsAroma overlapstrongMentioned together11,585 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).
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Thyme + tomatotop 3% of all pairsAroma overlapstrongMentioned together2,370 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).
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Chicken + tomatotop 3% of all pairsAroma overlapstrongMentioned together6,027 recipes
Shared aroma: 3-hexenal (apple, fruity).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Macaroni
- Softened macaroni forms the lining and structure that holds the chicken filling in shape.
- Minced chicken
- Provides the protein base of the filling, setting as it cooks.
- Butter
- Adds fat and richness, carrying flavour and keeping the filling moist.
- Lemon juice
- Adds acidity that brightens the savoury chicken filling.
The step that matters
Baking the filling gently as a custard. Cooking at a moderate 350°F for a full hour lets the chicken set evenly without drying out or curdling, as a custard does.
“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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