Why it works: Cream and butter are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 8% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 41,516 recipes. Both carry delta-dodecalactone, which smells sweet, creamy. The science ↓
Chicken Cream
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare the chicken
Mince the chicken meat twice using a meat grinder.
Pound the minced chicken in a mortar, then add the butter and seasonings.
Incorporate the eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition.
Rub the mixture through a wire sieve and stir in the cream.
Stir thoroughly until the mixture thickens slightly.
Steam and serve
Steam gently in a well-greased mold for about 45 minutes or longer.
Turn out onto a hot dish, coat with white sauce, decorate, and serve hot.
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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Cream + buttertop 8% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together41,516 recipes
Shared aroma: delta-dodecalactone (sweet, creamy).
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Chicken + meattop 13% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together2,449 recipes
Shared aroma: 1-octen-3-one (mushroom, metallic).
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Chicken + buttertop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together13,902 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-furfurylthiol (coffee, roasted).
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Chicken + peppertop 16% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together19,958 recipes
Shared aroma: piperonal (bitter, coconut).
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Meat + buttertop 16% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together7,594 recipes
Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Raw chicken meat
- Provides the protein that sets into a firm, sliceable body when steamed.
- Eggs
- Bind the mixture and help it set into a cohesive, tender structure as it cooks.
- Cream
- Adds moisture and richness, keeping the steamed texture soft rather than dry.
- Butter
- Adds fat for a smoother, richer mouthfeel and flavor.
The step that matters
Incorporate the eggs one at a time. Adding eggs gradually and mixing well after each lets the emulsion and batter combine evenly, preventing curdling or a lumpy, separated texture before steaming.
“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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