Why it works: Capers and parsley match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 1,550 recipes. Both carry coumarin, which smells sweet, hay. The science ↓
Stuffing for Fish
Ingredients
Directions
In a bowl, combine the cracker crumbs, salt, pepper, chopped onion, melted butter, and pickles or capers.
Mix well until combined. If the mixture is not moist enough, add a little hot water.
Optionally, you can add an egg for richness, but it is not necessary.
Ensure the stuffing is dry before using it to stuff the fish.
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.
Photo for illustrative purposes only · Contact us to use it
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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Capers + parsleytop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together1,550 recipes
Shared aroma: coumarin (sweet, hay).
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Pepper + parsleytop 2% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together34,122 recipes
Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).
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Onion + caperstop 7% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together1,381 recipes
Shared aroma: coumarin (sweet, hay).
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Onion + parsleytop 9% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together25,843 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).
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Pepper + oniontop 11% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together68,474 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
Swap the onion
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (pepper, butter, capers, parsley):
- Shallotfits better
- Chivefits better
- Mustardfits better
- Onionthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against pepper, butter, capers, parsley. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.
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