Why it works: Plum and peach match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 163 recipes. Both carry 2,4-decadienal, which smells seaweed. The science ↓
Dinner— Baked Chickens, Potatoes, Green Corn Pudding, Tomatoes, Plum Sauce; Sliced Peaches, Ice Cream, Cake.
Ingredients
Directions
The book gives no oven temperature. The 350°F (175°C) in the steps was added when the recipe was transcribed, as a starting point. The book gives no cooking times either; the times in the steps were added in transcription, so check for doneness rather than trusting the clock.
Prepare and roast the chicken
Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C).
Prepare the chicken by cleaning and seasoning it.
Place the chicken in a baking dish and roast for about 1.5 hours or until fully cooked.
Make the sides
Boil the potatoes until tender, then drain and serve.
For the green corn pudding, mix corn with eggs and milk, then bake until set.
Serve the tomatoes fresh or cooked as desired.
Finish and serve
Drizzle plum sauce over the chicken before serving.
Slice the peaches and serve with ice cream and cake for dessert.
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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Plum + peachtop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together163 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).
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Potato + corntop 5% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together938 recipes
Shared aroma: (e)-2-octenal (fatty, green).
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Potato + tomatotop 5% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together2,798 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
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Corn + tomatotop 6% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together2,099 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
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Tomato + plumtop 6% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together1,480 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Whole chicken
- Forms the main dish; roasting cooks it through and browns the outside.
- Potatoes
- Boiled until tender, giving a soft, starchy side dish.
- Green corn
- Baked with eggs and milk, it sets into a soft, custard-like pudding.
- Tomatoes
- Served fresh or cooked, adding acidity and moisture to the plate.
- Plum sauce
- Drizzled over the chicken, adding sweetness and a tangy flavor.
- Peaches
- Sliced and served with ice cream and cake, adding fruity sweetness to dessert.
The step that matters
Roast the chicken until fully cooked. Poultry must be cooked through, because undercooked chicken can carry harmful bacteria. Check that the thickest part reaches a safe internal temperature and the juices run clear before serving.
Swap the peach
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (chicken, potato, corn, tomato, plum, sauce, cream):
- Avocadofits better
- Cherryfits better
- Coconutfits better
- Peachthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against chicken, potato, corn, tomato, plum, sauce, 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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