Why it works: Pepper and celery match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 5% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 16,012 recipes. Both carry 4'-methylacetophenone, which smells bitter almond. The science ↓
Chicken Pie
Ingredients
Directions
The book gives no oven temperature. The 400°F (200°C) in the steps was added when the recipe was transcribed, as a starting point.
Prepare the filling
Prepare the chicken as for fricassee and stew until tender.
Remove the largest bones and scrape the meat from the neck and backbone.
Line a 4 to 6 quart pudding dish with biscuit dough, about ¼ inch thick.
Layer part of the chicken, a few lumps of butter, and sliced boiled eggs in the dish.
Add the remaining chicken and season as needed, along with optional new potatoes.
Pour enough gravy over the chicken to fill the dish to about 1 inch thick.
Bake and serve
Cover with a crust, making a hole in the center the size of a teacup.
Brush the top with beaten egg and bake at 400°F (200°C) for 30 to 45 minutes.
Garnish with small bright celery leaves arranged in a circle before serving.
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.
-
Pepper + celerytop 5% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together16,012 recipes
Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).
-
Potato + celerytop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together2,047 recipes
Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).
-
Chicken + potatotop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together2,756 recipes
Shared aroma: (z)-4-decenal (green, must).
-
Pepper + potatotop 9% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together8,305 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
-
Potato + biscuittop 10% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together137 recipes
Shared aroma: nonanal (fat, citrus).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Chicken
- Provides the main body of the pie, becoming tender through slow stewing.
- Eggs
- Sliced boiled eggs add firmness and richness to the layered filling.
- Biscuit dough
- Forms the crust that bakes to a crisp, golden, tender covering over the filling.
- Gravy
- Supplies moisture and flavour that keeps the filling juicy as it bakes.
- Butter
- Adds fat and richness, enhancing flavour and mouthfeel in the filling.
- Beaten egg
- Brushed on top, it promotes browning and a glossy finish on the crust.
The step that matters
Pour the gravy to the right depth. Filling the dish to about 1 inch keeps the filling moist without overflowing. Too little gravy lets the chicken dry out, while too much can soak the underside of the crust and stop it from baking crisp.
Swap the potato
The recipe marks potato as optional. How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (chicken, pepper, butter, egg, biscuit, celery):
- Spinachfits about as well
- Mustardfits about as well
- Capsicumfits about as well
- Potatothe original
Fit is the average pairing score against chicken, pepper, butter, egg, biscuit, celery. 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.
More chicken pie recipes
You might also like
Potato Biscuit32 recipes
Chicken Broth257 recipes
Potato Croquettes255 recipes
Chicken Soup156 recipesThe free Flavor Lab newsletter: one surprising pairing a week and the molecular reason it works, in 60 seconds. No spam, unsubscribe anytime.
Prefer an account? Create a free account to save pairings and unlock the full chemistry.