Why it works: Chicken and pepper are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 16% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 19,958 recipes. Both carry piperonal, which smells bitter, coconut. The science ↓
Baked Chicken
Ingredients
Directions
The book says “a moderate oven”. The 350°F (175°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.
Dress the chicken carefully and fill it with the desired dressing.
Thrust the legs through the hole at the back and pinion the wings close to the sides.
Dredge the chicken with coarse sea salt and black pepper.
Place the chicken in a roasting pan with ½ teacup of water.
Bake in a 350°F (175°C) oven without disturbing for 15-20 minutes.
Begin basting the chicken frequently until a fork shows it is done.
If it browns too quickly, cover it with another pan towards the end.
Serve with gravy.
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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Chicken + peppertop 16% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together19,958 recipes
Shared aroma: piperonal (bitter, coconut).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
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