Why it works: Pepper and clove match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 5% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 17,451 recipes. Both carry ethyl octanoate, which smells fruity, wine. The science ↓
Pigeon Pie
Ingredients
Directions
The book gives no oven temperature. The 400°F (200°C) in the steps was added when the recipe was transcribed, as a starting point.
Stew the pigeons
In a saucepan, combine the halved pigeons with enough meat stock to cover them.
Add pepper, salt, cloves, and chopped tomatoes.
Stew for 30 to 60 minutes, depending on the size and age of the pigeons.
Assemble and thicken
Line a pie dish with the pie crust and place the stewed pigeons inside.
Pour the gravy over the pigeons and sprinkle in a little flour to thicken.
Add a piece of butter if the gravy is not rich enough.
Bake and serve
Cover with a crust and bake at 400°F (200°C) for about 45 minutes, until the crust is golden.
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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Pepper + clovetop 5% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together17,451 recipes
Shared aroma: ethyl octanoate (fruity, wine).
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Pepper + tomatotop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together17,923 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
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Clove + tomatotop 12% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together3,474 recipes
Shared aroma: ethyl caproate (fruity, apple peel).
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Flour + buttertop 12% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together124,287 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Clove + flourtop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together12,671 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
Flour and butter barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 124,287 recipes: they work on texture and structure more than aroma.
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Pigeons
- Provide the main meat, which becomes tender through slow stewing in stock.
- Meat stock
- Moistens the pigeons and forms the base of the gravy.
- Tomatoes
- Add acidity and body to the gravy.
- Flour
- Thickens the gravy so it clings to the pigeons instead of running off.
- Butter
- Adds richness and fat to the gravy, improving its mouthfeel.
- Pie crust
- Forms the enclosing top and base, browning in the oven as it bakes.
The step that matters
Stewing the pigeons. Pigeon meat can be tough, and its tenderness depends on the bird's size and age. Stewing gently until the meat is tender before baking prevents a dry or chewy filling, since the pie's final bake will not fully tenderize it.
Swap the tomato
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (meat, pepper, clove, flour, butter):
- Shallotfits better
- Leekfits better
- Capsicumfits better
- Tomatothe original
Fit is the average pairing score against meat, pepper, clove, flour, 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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