Why it works: Potato and parsley are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 5% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 2,855 recipes. Both carry 4'-methylacetophenone, which smells bitter almond. The science ↓
Barley and Prunes
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare
Combine 1 cup barley, 1 tablespoon vinegar, 1/4 lb prunes, and salt.
Place a small piece of fat brisket with enough water to cover, and boil. Skim.
Cook
Add barley and cook until barley is partly tender.
Add prunes and boil again slowly for 2 hours, adding some salt and vinegar, stirring carefully so prunes remain whole.
Serve
Serve as accompaniment to a pot roast.
Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)
Counts 5 of 6 ingredients. The other 1 aren't in our nutrition table and add nothing above, so the real totals are higher.
What these numbers assume: 5 portions
| Ingredient | Portion assumed | kcal |
|---|---|---|
| Chicken | 100g cooked | 165 |
| Potato | 1 medium (173g) baked | 161 |
| Vinegar | 1 tbsp (15ml) distilled | 3 |
| Parsley | 1 tbsp chopped fresh (3.8g) | 1 |
| Salt | 1 tsp (6g) | 0 |
| Water | not in our table | 0 |
One typical portion per ingredient; the recipe's quantities are not counted. A rough guide only, not for medical or dietary planning.
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. See the original page.
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.
-
Potato + parsleytop 5% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together2,855 recipes
Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).
-
Potato + chickentop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together2,756 recipes
Shared aroma: (z)-4-decenal (green, must).
-
Vinegar + parsleytop 16% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together6,477 recipes
Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).
-
Chicken + parsleytop 19% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together6,314 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).
-
Vinegar + potatotop 20% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together1,608 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Barley (in the method)
- Provides the main starch, swelling into a chewy, hearty texture as it cooks.
- Prunes (in the method)
- Add sweetness and a soft, rich body to the dish.
- Vinegar
- Adds acidity that balances the sweetness of the prunes.
- Fat brisket
- Releases fat and savory flavor into the cooking water.
The step that matters
Stirring carefully when adding the prunes. Prunes soften as they simmer for a long time, so rough stirring can break their skins and flesh apart. Gentle stirring keeps them whole and gives a neater finished dish.
Swap the parsley
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (vinegar, potato, chicken):
- Garlicfits better
- Tarragonfits better
- Dillfits better
- Parsleythe original
Fit is the average pairing score against vinegar, potato, chicken. 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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