Name: Mushroom-baked Sole
Ingredients: vegetable oil spray; 1½ pounds sole fillets; 1 medium onion, finely chopped; ¼ cup chopped fresh parsley; 1 cup sliced fresh mushrooms; 2 tablespoons acceptable margarine; ½ teaspoon finely ground black pepper; ¼ cup dry white wine; 1 tablespoon acceptable margarine; 1 tablespoon flour; ½ cup skim milk; ¼ teaspoon paprika; 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley

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 ↓

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.

Parsley + peppertop 2% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together34,122 recipes

Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).
Mushroom + white winetop 5% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together1,765 recipes

Shared aroma: ethyl octanoate (fruity).
Onion + parsleytop 9% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together25,843 recipes

Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).
Onion + mushroomtop 10% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together10,626 recipes

Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).
Onion + peppertop 11% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked 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

What each ingredient does

Sole fillets: Form the main body of the dish, cooking gently in the wine and butter mixture.
Mushrooms: Add moisture and savory, earthy flavor as they soften with the onion.
Onion: Softens during sautéing, adding sweetness and aromatic depth to the filling.
Flour: Thickens the reserved pan liquid and milk into a smooth sauce.
Dry white wine: Adds acidity and moisture that steams the fish and carries flavor.
Skim milk: Combines with flour and pan liquid to form the body of the sauce.

The step that matters

Thickening the sauce. Flour must be whisked with the milk and cooked while stirring constantly; otherwise it can clump and leave the sauce lumpy or floury-tasting, since starch only thickens fully once heated with liquid.

Swap the onion

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (parsley, mushroom, pepper, white wine, flour, milk):

Shallotfits better
Carrotfits better
Capsicumfits better
Onionthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against parsley, mushroom, pepper, white wine, flour, milk. 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
Milk	1 cup (244ml) whole	149
Olive Oil	1 tbsp (14g)	119
Butter	1 tbsp (14g)	102
Onion	1 medium (110g)	44
Wine	2 tbsp cooking wine (30ml)	25
Mushrooms	1/2 cup sliced (35g)	15
Black Pepper	1 tsp ground (2.3g)	6
Parsley	1 tbsp chopped fresh (3.8g)	1

Mushroom-baked Sole