Why it works: Pepper and parsley 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 ↓
Meat Souffle
Ingredients
Directions
The book says “a slow oven”. The 300°F (150°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.
Prepare the sauce
Strip all meat from the chicken carcass and chop it finely.
In a saucepan, melt the butter, then whisk in the flour and cook for 1 minute.
Gradually add the milk, salt, and pepper, stirring until thickened.
Stir in the bread crumbs and cook for 5 minutes, then remove from heat.
Combine and bake
Add the beaten egg yolks, chicken, and parsley to the sauce and mix well.
Whip the egg whites until stiff, then gently fold them into the chicken mixture.
Pour the mixture into buttered ramekins and bake at 300°F (150°C) for 15-20 minutes.
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 + parsleytop 2% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together34,122 recipes
Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).
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Butter + breadtop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together27,232 recipes
Shared aroma: delta-decalactone (sweet, creamy).
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Milk + buttertop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together81,283 recipes
Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).
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Milk + breadtop 11% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together11,466 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-undecenal (sweet).
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Butter + flourtop 12% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together124,287 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
Butter and flour 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
- Eggs
- Whipped whites trap air for lift, and yolks enrich the custard-like base.
- Flour
- Cooked with butter, it forms a roux that thickens the milk into a stable sauce.
- Milk
- Forms the liquid base of the sauce, setting into a soft, creamy body when cooked.
- Butter
- Fat that enriches the roux and adds flavour to the sauce.
- Soft bread crumbs
- Absorb sauce liquid, adding body and a tender texture to the mixture.
- Chicken
- Provides the main protein and savoury flavour of the soufflé.
The step that matters
Folding in the egg whites. Whites must be whipped until stiff and folded in gently, since overmixing deflates the air bubbles that give the soufflé its rise.
Swap the parsley
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (chicken, milk, butter, flour, pepper, egg, bread):
- Nutmegfits about as well
- Parsleythe original
- Cinnamonfits about as well
- Thymefits about as well
Fit is the average pairing score against chicken, milk, butter, flour, pepper, egg, bread. 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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