Why it works: Pepper and parsley 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 ↓
Breaded Chicken
Ingredients
Directions
The book gives no oven temperature. The 300°F (150°C) in the steps was added when the recipe was transcribed, as a starting point.
Prepare
Cut the young chickens into pieces as for fricassee.
Dip each piece in beaten egg, then in grated bread crumbs or rolled crackers.
Season with pepper, coarse sea salt, and minced parsley.
Bake
Place in a baking pan and top each piece with a lump of butter.
Add ½ cup of hot water and bake at 300°F (150°C), basting often.
Once cooked, transfer to a warm platter.
Make the sauce and serve
Pour 1 cup of cream or rich milk and 1 cup of bread crumbs into the pan.
Stir well until cooked, then pour over the chicken.
Serve while hot.
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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Pepper + parsleytop 2% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together34,122 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).
-
Butter + creamtop 8% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together41,516 recipes
Shared aroma: delta-dodecalactone (sweet, creamy).
-
Egg + breadtop 13% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together22,662 recipes
Shared aroma: (e)-2-octenal (fatty, green).
-
Chicken + breadtop 14% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together2,258 recipes
Shared aroma: ethyl caproate (fruity).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Young chickens
- Provide the meat that is cooked through and served in pieces.
- Beaten egg
- Helps the bread crumb coating stick to the chicken pieces.
- Grated bread crumbs or rolled crackers
- Form a crisp, browned coating around the chicken during baking.
- Butter
- Adds richness and helps the coating brown as it bakes.
- 1 cup cream or rich milk
- Enriches the pan liquid and gives a creamy, thickened sauce.
The step that matters
Basting the chicken while it bakes. Regular basting moistens the surface and carries butter and pan juices over the coating, helping it brown evenly without drying out the meat.
Swap the parsley
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (chicken, egg, bread, pepper, butter, cream):
- Nutmegfits about as well
- Parsleythe original
- Tarragonfits about as well
- Garlicfits about as well
Fit is the average pairing score against chicken, egg, bread, pepper, butter, cream. 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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