Why it works: Onion and pepper are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 11% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 68,474 recipes. Both carry 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine, which smells earthy, pea. The science ↓
Roast Wild Duck
Ingredients
Directions
The book says “a hot oven”. The 400°F (200°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.
Prepare the duck
Pluck, singe, and wipe the duck with a wet towel.
Draw the duck carefully and skewer the legs and wings in place.
Stuff the duck with the onion, salt, pepper, and claret.
Place the duck in a dripping pan just large enough to hold it.
Roast and serve
Bake the duck at 400°F (200°C) for 15 minutes if medium-sized, or 20 minutes if large.
Serve hot with the gravy and a dish of currant jelly.
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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Onion + peppertop 11% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together68,474 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
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Pepper + curranttop 28% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together1,345 recipes
Shared aroma: isoamyl acetate (banana, pear).
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Onion + curranttop 36% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together526 recipes
Shared aroma: acetoin (butter, cream).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Wild duck
- Provides the meat that is roasted and served as the main dish.
- Claret
- Adds acidity and aroma that flavour the bird from inside as it roasts.
- Currant jelly
- Adds sweetness and tartness to contrast with the rich, gamey meat.
The step that matters
Bake the duck at 400°F (200°C) for 15 minutes if medium-sized, or 20 minutes if large.. Wild duck is lean and dries out quickly, so timing by size matters. Overcooking toughens the meat, while a bird that is underdone may be unsafe to eat.
Swap the currant
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (onion, pepper):
- Limefits better
- Avocadofits better
- Mangofits better
- Currantthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against onion, pepper. 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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