Why it works: Liver and flour are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 28% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 1,418 recipes. Both carry isobutyraldehyde, which smells malty, green. The science ↓
Liver and Bacon
Ingredients
Directions
Cut the liver into thick slices.
Pour boiling water over the liver and let it stand for 10 minutes.
Drain the liver and dip it in flour.
In a hot skillet, cook thin slices of bacon.
Add the liver to the skillet and fry for a few minutes on each side until browned.
Pour in a little boiling water, cover tightly, and let simmer slowly for 30 minutes.
Remove the liver and bacon, thicken the gravy with a little flour, add salt, and let it boil before pouring over the meat.
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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Liver + flourtop 28% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together1,418 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
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