Why it works: Parsley and pepper 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 ↓
Chicken Soup
Ingredients
Directions
Place the chicken in a large pot with cold water and cook slowly until the meat falls off the bone.
Remove the chicken from the pot and add the rice.
About 10 minutes before serving, stir in the egg yolks, sweet milk, butter, parsley, pepper, and salt.
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.
Photo for illustrative purposes only · Contact us to use it
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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Parsley + peppertop 2% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together34,122 recipes
Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).
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Milk + buttertop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together81,283 recipes
Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).
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Milk + ricetop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together7,374 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
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Rice + parsleytop 10% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together2,762 recipes
Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).
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Rice + peppertop 12% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together8,379 recipes
Shared aroma: trans-2-nonenal (cardboard, fatty).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Chicken (in the method)
- Provides the meat and the rich broth flavour as it cooks slowly in water.
- Rice
- Thickens the broth slightly and adds body as it cooks in the soup.
- Egg yolks
- Enrich the soup and give it a smooth, creamy body when stirred in.
- Sweet milk
- Adds richness and softens the flavour of the broth.
- Butter
- Adds fat for richness and a smooth mouthfeel.
The step that matters
Stirring in the egg yolks. Egg yolks thicken when heated gently but can scramble if the soup is too hot or boiling. Keep the soup below a simmer while stirring them in so the texture stays smooth and creamy.
Swap the parsley
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (egg, milk, rice, butter, pepper):
- Cinnamonfits about as well
- Nutmegfits about as well
- Parsleythe original
- Cardamomfits about as well
Fit is the average pairing score against egg, milk, rice, butter, pepper. 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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