Why it works: Whiting and sauce match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 236 recipes. Both carry ethanol, which smells alcoholic, ethereal. The science ↓
Quenelles De Merlans a LA Villeroi
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare a firm stuffing with the whiting fish.
Mold 14 quenelles using a spoon on a lightly floured surface.
Shape each quenelle into a 3.5-inch long and 1.5-inch wide oval.
Cut each quenelle in half lengthwise and flatten with the back of a knife.
Fill one half with cooled, reduced mushroom sauce, leaving a ¼-inch border.
Place the other half on top and press together to seal.
Shape the quenelles again with a knife.
Place them in a buttered sauté pan to poach.
Once firm to the touch, drain and press lightly.
When cooled, dip in reduced mushroom sauce, then in beaten egg, and coat with breadcrumbs.
Fry until golden brown.
Arrange in a crown shape and serve with a light sauce.
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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Whiting + saucetop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together236 recipes
Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
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Butter + mushroomtop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together12,525 recipes
Shared aroma: trans-2-decenal (waxy, orange).
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Fish + buttertop 12% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together4,488 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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Fish + mushroomtop 12% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together444 recipes
Shared aroma: 1-octen-3-one (mushroom, metallic).
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
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