Why it works: Flour and pepper are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 19% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 50,459 recipes. Both carry isobutyraldehyde, which smells malty, green. The science ↓
Calves' Liver, Semi-fried
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare
Mix flour, salt, and pepper in a plate.
Dip the liver into the flour mixture.
Fry and serve
Heat enough fat in a frying pan to cover the bottom by ¼ inch.
When hot, add the liver and bacon.
Remove the bacon when cooked, about 5 minutes.
Turn the liver and cook until done, then transfer to a dish and serve.
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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Flour + peppertop 19% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together50,459 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Liver + peppertop 21% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together2,375 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
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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
What each ingredient does
- Calf's liver
- Is the main protein, cooked quickly so it stays tender inside and browns outside.
- Flour
- Coats the liver so it browns in the hot fat and keeps moisture in during frying.
- Bacon
- Renders fat into the pan, adding savory flavor to the liver as it cooks.
The step that matters
Turn the liver and cook until done. Liver is thin and cooks fast, so overcooking makes it dry and grainy. Pull it when just cooked through, while the centre is still slightly tender.
“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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