Name: Chicken or Rabbit Pie
Ingredients: Puff paste for the bottom and sides; 2 small chickens, cut into pieces; Coarse sea salt, to taste; Black pepper, to taste; Sweetbreads, cut into pieces; Truffles, cut into pieces; Morels, cut into pieces; 4 artichoke bottoms, cut into quarters; Yolks of 2 hard-boiled eggs, chopped; Water, as needed; Rich gravy, thickened with flour and butter

Why it works: Artichoke and flour match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 6% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 466 recipes. Both carry isobutyraldehyde, which smells malty, green. The science ↓

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.

Artichoke + flourtop 6% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together466 recipes

Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
Pepper + artichoketop 10% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together1,170 recipes

Shared aroma: nonanal (fat, citrus).
Truffle + buttertop 11% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together2,209 recipes

Shared aroma: nonanal (fat, citrus).
Flour + buttertop 12% of all pairs

Smell alikelow

Cooked together124,287 recipes

Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
Truffle + artichoketop 13% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together240 recipes

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

Flour and butter 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

Puff paste: Forms a flaky, crisp crust that encloses the filling and browns in the oven.
Chickens: Provides the main savory meat that gives the pie its body and flavor.
Truffles: Adds a strong, concentrated earthy aroma to the filling.
Morels: Contributes a meaty, earthy flavor and chewy texture to the filling.
Rich gravy: Adds moisture and richness so the filling is not dry.
Hard-boiled egg yolks: Add richness and a soft, creamy texture to the filling.

“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.