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Chicken, Timbales of

Chicken purée set in macaroni-lined timbale molds, steamed, and served with Béchamel sauce.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 9 ingredients
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Why it works: Butter and cream are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 8% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 41,516 recipes. Both carry delta-dodecalactone, which smells sweet, creamy. The science ↓

Chicken, Timbales of

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare

  1. Boil the macaroni in salted water until tender.

  2. Cut the macaroni into rings about ⅛ inch thick.

Line and fill

  1. Line several well-buttered timbale molds with the macaroni rings, arranging them evenly.

  2. Prepare the chicken purée as directed for 'Chicken Soufflé.'

  3. Fill the prepared molds with the chicken mixture.

Steam and serve

  1. Steam the timbales for 25 to 35 minutes.

  2. Arrange the timbales on a hot dish, pour the Béchamel sauce around, and serve.

Recipe from a historical cookbook (Internet Archive).

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.

  1. Butter + creamtop 8% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together41,516 recipes

    Shared aroma: delta-dodecalactone (sweet, creamy).

  2. Cream + saucetop 9% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together4,787 recipes

    Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).

  3. Butter + saucetop 15% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together15,338 recipes

    Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).

  4. Chicken + buttertop 15% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together13,902 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-furfurylthiol (coffee, roasted).

  5. Chicken + peppertop 16% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together19,958 recipes

    Shared aroma: piperonal (bitter, coconut).

Butter and sauce barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 15,338 recipes: they work on texture and structure more than aroma.

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

Raw chicken
Forms the main body of the timbale once puréed and set.
Egg whites
Set with gentle heat to give the purée its light, firm structure.
Egg yolk
Adds richness and helps bind the chicken mixture so it holds its shape.
Cream
Adds moisture and softness, keeping the set mixture tender rather than dry.
Butter
Greases the molds so the timbales release cleanly, and adds richness.
Macaroni
Forms a shaped outer ring that holds the timbale's form and adds texture.

The step that matters

Steaming the timbales. Egg proteins set with gentle heat. If the timbales steam too hard or too long, the egg sets rubbery and can curdle or weep, so the texture turns coarse instead of smooth.

“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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