Why it works: Flour and pepper are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 19% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 50,459 recipes. Both carry isobutyraldehyde, which smells malty, green. The science ↓
Liver and Bacon
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare
Cut the bacon into thin slices and remove the rind.
Slice the liver into pieces about 1 inch thick.
Coat the liver slices in flour on a plate.
Cook the bacon and liver
Heat the bacon in a frying pan for about 4 minutes, turning to prevent burning.
Once browned, place the bacon on a dish and keep it warm.
Fry the liver slices in the same pan for about 10 minutes, turning only once.
The liver should be brown inside; place it in the center of the dish and keep it warm.
Make the gravy
In a bowl, mix the flour, pepper, and salt, then add water to make a smooth paste.
Pour the mixture into the pan, stir, and boil gently for 5 minutes.
Strain the gravy over the liver 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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Flour + peppertop 19% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together50,459 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Liver + peppertop 21% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together2,375 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
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Liver + flourtop 28% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together1,418 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Liver
- Provides the main body of the dish and its rich, savoury flavour.
- Bacon
- Adds salty, smoky fat that browns in the pan and flavours the liver and gravy.
- Flour
- Coats the liver and thickens the gravy into a smooth sauce.
The step that matters
Frying the liver. Liver turns tough and dry if overcooked, so it should be turned only once and checked for a brown interior without being left in the pan too long. Flour coating helps it brown evenly.
“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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