Why it works: Thyme and parsley match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 9,057 recipes. Both carry cuminaldehyde, which smells Spicy, cumin. The science ↓
Crimped Skate
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare and boil
Clean, skin, and cut the fish into slices, which roll and tie round with string.
Have ready some water highly salted, put in the fish, and boil till it is done.
Serve
Drain well, remove the string, dish on a hot napkin, and serve with the same sauces as above.
Simmer with aromatics
Put in a fish‑kettle all the above ingredients, and simmer the skate in them till tender.
Finish and serve
When it is done, skin it neatly, and pour over it some of the liquor in which it has been boiling.
Drain it, put it on a hot dish, pour over it caper sauce, and send some of the latter to table in a tureen.
Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)
What these numbers assume: 5 portions
| Ingredient | Portion assumed | kcal |
|---|---|---|
| Onion | 1 medium (110g) | 44 |
| Black Pepper | 1 tsp ground (2.3g) | 6 |
| Thyme | 1 tsp dried (1.4g) | 4 |
| Vinegar | 1 tbsp (15ml) distilled | 3 |
| Parsley | 1 tbsp chopped fresh (3.8g) | 1 |
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.
-
Thyme + parsleytop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together9,057 recipes
Shared aroma: cuminaldehyde (Spicy, cumin).
-
Pepper + parsleytop 2% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together34,122 recipes
Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).
-
Pepper + thymetop 4% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together11,585 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).
-
Thyme + oniontop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together11,171 recipes
Shared aroma: coumarin (sweet, hay).
-
Parsley + oniontop 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
- Skate
- Forms the main body of the dish; its flesh firms and flakes as it cooks.
- Vinegar
- Adds acidity that sharpens the flavour of the cooking liquor.
- Onion
- Adds aroma and savour to the cooking liquor.
- Bay-leaves
- Contribute a subtle aromatic flavour to the cooking liquor.
- Thyme
- Contributes herbal aroma to the cooking liquor.
The step that matters
Simmer the skate gently until tender. Gentle simmering lets the delicate flesh cook through and absorb the flavours while staying in intact pieces. Vigorous boiling toughens the protein and breaks the flakes apart, so the liquor should only barely move.
Swap the onion
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (vinegar, pepper, thyme, parsley):
- Shallotfits better
- Carrotfits better
- Capsicumfits better
- Onionthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against vinegar, pepper, thyme, 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.
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