Why it works: Pepper and nutmeg match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 7% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 13,015 recipes. Both carry 4'-methylacetophenone, which smells bitter almond. The science ↓
Pigeon Pie
Ingredients
Directions
The book gives no oven temperature. The 400°F (200°C) in the steps was added when the recipe was transcribed, as a starting point.
Prepare
Preheat the oven to 400°F (200°C).
Lay a border of fine puff paste around a large dish.
Cover the bottom with the veal cutlet or steak, seasoned with salt, cayenne, and nutmeg or mace.
Prepare the young pigeons and place them in a single layer in the dish, breasts down.
Insert a slice or ball of butter, seasoned with cayenne and mace, into each pigeon.
Add the yolks of the hard-boiled eggs between and over the pigeons, and dot with more butter.
Season the entire dish well with salt and spices.
Pour in some cold water or veal broth for gravy.
Bake and serve
Roll out the puff paste cover to ¾ inch thick, secure it around the edge, and decorate it.
Bake the pie for at least 1 hour in the preheated oven.
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.
-
Pepper + nutmegtop 7% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together13,015 recipes
Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).
-
Nutmeg + buttertop 16% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together24,377 recipes
Shared aroma: eucalyptol (eucalyptus, herbal).
-
Butter + eggtop 17% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together118,967 recipes
Shared aroma: decanal (soap, orange peel).
-
Nutmeg + eggtop 17% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together24,744 recipes
Shared aroma: acetic acid (sour, vinegar).
-
Veal + peppertop 19% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together10,049 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
Nutmeg and egg barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 24,744 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
- Fine puff paste
- Forms the crust border and cover that seals in the filling while baking.
- Veal cutlet or tender rump steak
- Adds meat that becomes tender and savoury as it cooks slowly in the pie.
- Freshly-killed young pigeons
- Provide the main meat, which stays moist when cooked in a sealed pie.
- Butter
- Adds richness and moisture, melting into the meat and gravy as it bakes.
- Hard-boiled egg yolks
- Add richness and a soft, creamy texture to the filling.
- Cold water or veal broth
- Creates the liquid that becomes gravy as the pie bakes.
The step that matters
Securing the crust cover. The cover must be sealed firmly around the edge so steam and juices build up inside. A poor seal lets liquid escape and leaves the filling dry and the crust soggy at the rim.
Swap the nutmeg
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (veal, pepper, butter, egg):
- Parsleyfits better
- Sagefits about as well
- Nutmegthe original
- Tarragonfits about as well
Fit is the average pairing score against veal, pepper, butter, 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.
More pigeon pie recipes
You might also like
Veal Patties50 recipes
Beef, Mutton, or Veal Broth6 recipes
Tomato Soup526 recipes
Brown Bread461 recipesThe free Flavor Lab newsletter: one surprising pairing a week and the molecular reason it works, in 60 seconds. No spam, unsubscribe anytime.
Prefer an account? Create a free account to save pairings and unlock the full chemistry.