Name: Mock Crab Casserole
Ingredients: 1 pound fish fillets (flounder or other white fish); 2 tablespoons butter or margarine; 1 cup chicken broth; 3 cups cooked rice; 3/4 cup chopped onion; 3/4 cup chopped celery; 1/2 cup chopped green pepper; 2 tablespoons dehydrated parsley flakes; 1 cup crumbled corn bread (or soft bread crumbs); 2 eggs, slightly beaten; 1 teaspoon salt; 1 teaspoon poultry seasoning; 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

Why it works: Celery and parsley match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 6,810 recipes. Both carry 4'-methylacetophenone, which smells bitter almond. The science ↓

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.

Celery + parsleytop 1% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together6,810 recipes

Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).
Pepper + parsleytop 2% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together34,122 recipes

Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).
Celery + peppertop 5% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together16,012 recipes

Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).
Chicken + ricetop 5% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together4,769 recipes

Shared aroma: (e,e)-2,4-decadienal (fatty, deep fried).
Onion + celerytop 7% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together18,518 recipes

Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

Eggs: Bind the mixture and help it set as it bakes.
Cooked rice: Provides the bulk and body of the casserole.
Corn bread crumbs: Absorb liquid and add soft, tender structure to the casserole.
Chicken broth: Adds moisture and savory flavor to the mixture.
Butter: Adds richness and flavor and helps keep the casserole moist.

Swap the onion

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (fish, butter, chicken, rice, celery, pepper, parsley):

Carrotfits better
Potatofits better
Capsicumfits better
Onionthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against fish, butter, chicken, rice, celery, pepper, parsley. 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.

Ingredient	Portion assumed	kcal
Flour	1 cup (125g) all-purpose	455
Salmon	100g cooked	208
Rice	1 cup cooked (158g) white	206
Chicken	100g cooked	165
Butter	1 tbsp (14g)	102
Egg	1 large egg (50g)	78
Corn	1/2 cup kernels (82g)	77
Onion	1 medium (110g)	44
Bell Pepper	1 medium (119g)	31
Celery	1 stalk (40g)	6
Black Pepper	1 tsp ground (2.3g)	6
Parsley	1 tbsp chopped fresh (3.8g)	1
Salt	1 tsp (6g)	0

Mock Crab Casserole