Why it works: Mustard and vinegar are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 7% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 14,067 recipes. Both carry isobutyraldehyde, which smells malty, green. The science ↓
Devilled Goose
Ingredients
Directions
Grill the legs and wings of the cold roast goose until heated through.
In a bowl, mix together the butter, pepper, salt, mustard, and vinegar.
Pour the mixture over the heated goose and serve very 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.
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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Mustard + vinegartop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together14,067 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Pepper + mustardtop 9% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together15,430 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
-
Pepper + vinegartop 14% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together27,814 recipes
Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).
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Butter + peppertop 21% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together85,593 recipes
Shared aroma: trans-2-nonenal (cardboard, fatty).
-
Butter + mustardtop 22% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together8,003 recipes
Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Goose legs and wings
- Main protein, which is reheated and carries the sauce.
- Butter
- Adds fat and richness, carrying flavour into the sauce coating the meat.
- Mixed mustard
- Adds sharp, pungent heat that gives the sauce its deviled character.
- Sharp vinegar
- Adds acidity that cuts through the rich fat and brightens the sauce.
The step that matters
Grill until heated through. Cold meat must be reheated fully, since grilling only warms the surface quickly and the centre can stay cold. Serving it very hot keeps the butter-based sauce fluid and coating the meat.
Swap the mustard
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (butter, pepper, vinegar):
- Capsicumfits better
- Mustardthe original
- Cabbagefits less well
- Onionfits less well
Fit is the average pairing score against butter, pepper, vinegar. 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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