Why it works: Parsley and pepper match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 2% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 34,122 recipes. Both carry 4'-methylacetophenone, which smells bitter almond. The science ↓
Chicken Patties
Ingredients
Directions
The book says “a quick oven”. The 400°F (200°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.
Prepare
Preheat the oven to 400°F (200°C).
Roll out the pastry to ⅓ inch thick and cut into rounds.
Grease small tins and place two rounds in each.
Fill and bake
Mix the chicken, ham, white sauce, parsley, and season with pepper and salt.
Heap the mixture into each pastry-lined tin, dampen the edges, and place a lid on top.
Make a small hole in each lid and brush with beaten egg.
Bake for about 15 minutes until golden.
Serve with a sprig of parsley on top.
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.
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Parsley + peppertop 2% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together34,122 recipes
Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).
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Chicken + hamtop 14% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together1,497 recipes
Shared aroma: 1-octen-3-ol (mushroom, earthy).
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Chicken + peppertop 16% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together19,958 recipes
Shared aroma: piperonal (bitter, coconut).
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Ham + eggtop 17% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together4,526 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).
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Chicken + parsleytop 19% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together6,314 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
- Rough puff pastry
- Forms the flaky, layered case and lids that puff and brown in the oven.
- Cold chicken
- Provides the main filling, adding savoury meat flavour and body.
- Cold ham
- Adds salty, savoury flavour to the filling.
- White sauce
- Binds the chicken and ham together and keeps the filling moist.
- Beaten egg
- Brushed on top, it promotes browning and a glossy golden finish.
The step that matters
Make a small hole in each lid and brush with beaten egg. The vent lets steam escape so the filling does not build pressure and burst the pastry, while the egg glaze helps the top brown evenly.
Swap the parsley
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (chicken, ham, sauce, pepper, egg):
- Parsleythe original
- Tarragonfits about as well
- Capersfits about as well
- Celeryfits about as well
Fit is the average pairing score against chicken, ham, sauce, pepper, egg. 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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