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Chicken Ramekins

A baked chicken custard served in individual ramekins.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 6 ingredients
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Chicken Ramekins

Why it works: Meat and chicken are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 13% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 2,449 recipes. Both carry 1-octen-3-one, which smells mushroom, metallic. The science ↓

Chicken Ramekins

Oven, in the book's wordsA hot oven

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 custard

  1. Chop the chicken meat very finely.

  2. In a saucepan, combine the cream and baking soda, then heat on the stove.

  3. Add the chopped chicken to the cream and let it boil for five minutes, then remove from heat.

  4. Once cool, mix in the beaten egg yolks and season with salt and pepper.

  5. Gently fold in the beaten egg whites.

Bake and serve

  1. Pour the mixture into buttered ramekin dishes.

  2. Bake in a hot oven at 400°F (200°C) until set.

  3. Serve immediately.

Recipe from a historical cookbook (Internet Archive).

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.

Photo for illustrative purposes only · Contact us to use it

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.

  1. Meat + chickentop 13% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together2,449 recipes

    Shared aroma: 1-octen-3-one (mushroom, metallic).

  2. Chicken + peppertop 16% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together19,958 recipes

    Shared aroma: piperonal (bitter, coconut).

  3. Meat + peppertop 19% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together8,777 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).

  4. Meat + eggtop 22% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together6,432 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).

  5. Cream + peppertop 23% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together21,449 recipes

    Shared aroma: acetic acid (sour, vinegar).

Cream and pepper barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 21,449 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

White meat of raw chicken
Provides the protein that sets into a firm, sliceable body when heated.
Cream
Adds fat and moisture, giving the custard a smooth, rich texture.
Eggs
Egg yolks and whites thicken and set the mixture, giving structure to the custard.
Baking soda
Raises the pH of the mixture, which helps the chicken proteins break down and tenderize.

The step that matters

Gently fold in the beaten egg whites. Egg whites hold air that gives lightness; deflating them by stirring vigorously makes the set custard dense. Fold slowly so the air stays in the mixture.

“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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