Why it works: Flour and chanterelle share more aroma than cooks usually use. They rank in the top 3% of all ingredient pairs, and 32 recipes mention both. Both carry isobutyraldehyde, which smells malty, green. The science ↓
The recipe
2 chicken breast halvesIngredients
Contains: milk, wheat (auto-detected from the ingredients and method; we can miss things, so check labels)
Directions
Method written by CompKitchen from the ingredient list. Not the original author's method, not kitchen-tested.
Mix the flour, paprika, a pinch of salt and black pepper on a plate. Pat the chicken breast halves dry and coat both sides in the seasoned flour, shaking off the excess.
Melt 2 tablespoons butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Cook the chicken 5 to 6 minutes per side until golden brown.
Continue cooking the chicken, covered, over medium-low heat for 5 to 8 minutes, until the thickest part reaches 165°F (74°C). Transfer to a plate and keep warm.
Melt 4 tablespoons butter in the same skillet over medium heat. Add the sliced chanterelles and cook 5 to 6 minutes, stirring, until they release their liquid and turn golden.
Pour in the Marsala wine and simmer 2 minutes, scraping up the browned bits from the bottom of the pan.
Add the chicken broth and crushed dried tarragon and simmer 5 minutes until the sauce thickens slightly. Season with salt and black pepper to taste.
Return the chicken and any juices to the pan, spoon the sauce over it, and warm through for 1 to 2 minutes before serving.
Explore the science
The flavor team
The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much aroma chemistry they share, and how many recipes mention both.
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Flour + chanterelletop 3% of all pairsAroma overlapstrongMentioned together32 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Chicken + mushroomtop 2% of all pairsAroma overlapstrongMentioned together4,171 recipes
Shared aroma: 1-butyl acetate (fruity, banana).
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Butter + mushroomtop 3% of all pairsAroma overlapstrongMentioned together12,516 recipes
Shared aroma: trans-2-decenal (waxy, orange).
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Mushroom + winetop 3% of all pairsAroma overlapmoderateMentioned together2,509 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-methoxy-4-propylphenol (allspice, anise).
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Pepper + tarragontop 3% of all pairsAroma overlapstrongMentioned together1,691 recipes
Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
Flavor stand-ins for the tarragon
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (flour, chicken, butter, chanterelle, mushroom, pepper, wine):
- Thymebetter flavor fit
- Garlicabout as good a flavor fit
- Rosemaryabout as good a flavor fit
- Tarragonthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against flour, chicken, butter, chanterelle, mushroom, pepper, wine. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes. This compares flavor only: it does not check the job the ingredient does in the dish (bulk, moisture, acidity, structure).
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