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 ↓
Turkey or Chicken Jambolaya
Ingredients
Directions
Make the base
In a skillet, fry the chopped onion in butter until soft.
Stir in the flour, then add the tomatoes and cayenne pepper, mixing well.
Add the turkey or chicken pieces and stew thoroughly.
Add the rice and finish
In a double boiler, soften the rice, then add it to the skillet.
Cook until the mixture is moderately stiff.
Add a bay leaf or parsley if desired, and season with salt to taste.
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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Tomato + ricetop 6% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together3,065 recipes
Shared aroma: trans-2-nonenal (cardboard, fatty).
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Tomato + peppertop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together17,923 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
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Onion + tomatotop 8% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together20,633 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
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Tomato + parsleytop 8% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together5,398 recipes
Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Butter
- Adds fat for frying the onion and carries flavor through the dish.
- Flour
- Thickens the mixture slightly as it cooks with the tomatoes and butter.
- Tomatoes
- Provide moisture and acidity that combine with the meat and rice.
- Turkey or chicken
- Supplies the protein, which becomes tender as it stews in the mixture.
- Rice
- Absorbs liquid and softens, giving the dish its body and bulk.
The step that matters
Cook until the mixture is moderately stiff. Rice keeps absorbing liquid as it sits and cooks, so stopping too early can leave it wet and loose, while overcooking can make it dry and sticky. Watching the texture helps the rice finish evenly.
Swap the parsley
The recipe marks parsley as optional. How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (onion, butter, flour, tomato, pepper, turkey, rice):
- Thymefits about as well
- Turmericfits about as well
- Celeryfits about as well
- Parsleythe original
Fit is the average pairing score against onion, butter, flour, tomato, pepper, turkey, rice. 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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