Why it works: Pepper and parsley 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 ↓
Cabbage, Holland a Ise Style
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare
Trim, wash, cut into quarters, remove stalks, and shred the leaves.
Parboil the cabbage for 5 minutes, then drain.
Cook
Melt butter in a saucepan and lightly fry the onions.
Add the cabbage and sliced apples to the saucepan.
Season with salt, pepper, sugar, and add the parsley.
Simmer slowly for 1 hour.
Add the Burgundy wine and cook for 30 minutes.
Remove the parsley, add a piece of butter, and toss well before serving.
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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Pepper + parsleytop 2% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together34,122 recipes
Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).
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Cabbage + peppertop 5% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together4,081 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
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Cabbage + oniontop 7% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together3,001 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
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Cabbage + parsleytop 8% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together660 recipes
Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).
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Onion + parsleytop 9% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together25,843 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Red cabbage
- Forms the bulk of the dish and becomes tender during long simmering.
- Apples
- Break down partly during cooking, adding sweetness and a mild fruity acidity.
- Burgundy wine
- Adds acidity and depth of flavour, and helps tenderise the cabbage as it cooks.
- Butter
- Adds richness and a silky mouthfeel to the finished dish.
- Onions
- Soften and turn sweet when lightly fried, building a savoury base.
The step that matters
Simmering the cabbage and apples for 1 hour. Cooking slowly over low heat lets the cabbage soften evenly without scorching. Adding the wine only after this long simmer keeps its acidity from stopping the cabbage from softening too early.
Swap the apple
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (cabbage, butter, onion, pepper, sugar, parsley, wine):
- Lemonfits better
- Limefits better
- Mangofits better
- Applethe original
Fit is the average pairing score against cabbage, butter, onion, pepper, sugar, parsley, wine. 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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