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 ↓
Baked Fish
Ingredients
Directions
The book says “a moderate oven”. The 350°F (175°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.
Prepare
Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C).
Dress the fish for baking.
Melt the butter.
Mix the melted butter with the bread crumbs, salt, pepper, and chopped parsley.
Stuff the fish with the mixture.
Sew the fish closed.
Make gashes on the sides of the fish, 2 inches apart.
Fill the gashes with thin slices of bacon.
Brown and bake
Heat a little of the bacon or pork fat in a pan.
Drop the fish into the pan.
Cook the fish for a moment or two.
Turn the fish over.
Once the fish is browned on all sides, place it in the oven.
When the fish is half-done, dredge it with flour.
Add enough boiling water to cover the bottom of the pan.
Bake slowly, basting every 10 minutes with its juices and fat.
Serve
Garnish the fish with parsley and lemon.
Serve the fish with Hollandaise 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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Parsley + peppertop 2% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together34,122 recipes
Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).
-
Bread + buttertop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together27,232 recipes
Shared aroma: delta-decalactone (sweet, creamy).
-
Fish + breadtop 10% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together1,668 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-undecenal (sweet).
-
Fish + porktop 12% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together668 recipes
Shared aroma: 4-heptenal (creamy, biscuit).
-
Fish + buttertop 12% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together4,488 recipes
Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Fish
- Forms the main body of the dish, cooking through gently in the oven.
- Bread crumbs
- Absorb the melted butter and juices, forming a moist, tender stuffing.
- Butter
- Adds richness and fat that carries flavor and helps the crumbs brown.
- Bacon (in the method)
- Renders fat into the fish, adding savory flavor and moisture as it cooks.
- Flour (in the method)
- Dusted on the fish partway through, it helps thicken the pan juices and aids browning.
The step that matters
Bake slowly and baste every 10 minutes. Slow baking with regular basting keeps the fish moist and prevents the surface from drying out before the interior is cooked through. Basting spreads fat and juices over the skin, promoting even browning.
Swap the parsley
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (fish, bread, pepper, butter, pork):
- Parsleythe original
- Thymefits about as well
- Sagefits about as well
- Marjoramfits about as well
Fit is the average pairing score against fish, bread, pepper, butter, pork. 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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