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 Pudding
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare
Prepare a steamer or boiler for the pudding mold.
Ensure the water is boiling before making the pudding.
Grease the pudding mold.
Make and cook
In a bowl, combine the chicken, flour, melted butter, egg, parsley, milk, baking powder, salt, and pepper.
Mix until well combined and pour into the prepared mold.
Steam or boil for the required time until cooked through.
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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Parsley + peppertop 2% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together34,122 recipes
Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).
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Butter + milktop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together81,283 recipes
Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).
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Flour + buttertop 12% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together124,287 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Flour + parsleytop 12% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together16,675 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Chicken + milktop 13% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together4,389 recipes
Shared aroma: 1-hexanal (fruit).
Flour and butter barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 124,287 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
- Cooked chicken
- Provides the savoury bulk and main flavour of the pudding.
- Flour
- Forms the starch structure that holds the pudding together as it cooks.
- Egg
- Binds the mixture and sets with heat to give a firm, cohesive texture.
- Baking powder
- Releases gas during cooking, helping the pudding rise and turn light.
- Milk
- Adds moisture and softness, and helps the batter set into a tender crumb.
- Melted butter
- Adds fat for richness and a moist, tender texture.
The step that matters
Start with boiling water before adding the pudding. Starting the steam at a full boil delivers heat to the mold immediately, so the egg and flour batter begins setting evenly. Cold or weak steam cooks the pudding slowly and can leave it heavy or undercooked in the centre.
Swap the parsley
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (chicken, flour, butter, egg, milk, pepper):
- Nutmegfits about as well
- Parsleythe original
- Cinnamonfits about as well
- Tarragonfits about as well
Fit is the average pairing score against chicken, flour, butter, egg, milk, 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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