Why it works: Parsley and cauliflower match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 5% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 233 recipes. Both carry 4'-methylacetophenone, which smells bitter almond. The science ↓
Boiled Fowls
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare
Select white-legged poultry for better color when dressed.
Truss the fowl firmly with legs drawn into the body and wings over the back.
Cook
Cover the fowl with hot water (not boiling).
Boil a full-sized fowl for 45 minutes; young chickens for 20-25 minutes.
Remove scum carefully as it gathers on the surface.
Serve
Serve with your choice of sauce and optional vegetables.
If using livers, simmer for 4-5 minutes, mash, and mix with sauce without boiling.
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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Parsley + cauliflowertop 5% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together233 recipes
Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).
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Bread + buttertop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together27,232 recipes
Shared aroma: delta-decalactone (sweet, creamy).
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Egg + breadtop 13% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together22,662 recipes
Shared aroma: (e)-2-octenal (fatty, green).
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Chicken + breadtop 14% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together2,258 recipes
Shared aroma: ethyl caproate (fruity).
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Parsley + buttertop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together28,563 recipes
Shared aroma: trans-2-hexenal (green, leafy).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Fowl or young chickens
- Provides the meat that becomes tender and juicy during slow simmering in water.
- Parsley and butter sauce
- Adds richness and moisture to the mild, plainly cooked chicken.
The step that matters
Covering with hot water, not boiling. Starting with water that is hot but not boiling and keeping it below a boil helps the meat cook gently. Vigorous boiling toughens muscle proteins and makes the broth cloudy.
Swap the cauliflower
The recipe marks cauliflower as optional. How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (chicken, parsley, egg, bread, butter):
- Potatofits better
- Leekfits better
- Shallotfits better
- Cauliflowerthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against chicken, parsley, egg, bread, butter. 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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