Why it works: Parsley and lemon match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 14,037 recipes. Both carry beta-phellandrene, which smells minty, terpene. The science ↓
Fried Beans Are Served in Broth
Ingredients
Directions
[204] MUSTARD BEANS _ALITER: FABACIÆ EX SINAPI_
[The beans previously cooked are seasoned with] CRUSHED MUSTARD SEED, HONEY, NUTS, RUE, CUMIN, AND SERVED WITH VINEGAR.
[205] BAIÆAN BEANS _BAIANAS_ [1]
COOKED BEANS FROM BAIÆ ARE CUT FINE [and finished with] RUE, GREEN CELERY, LEEKS, VINEGAR [2] A LITTLE MUST OR RAISIN WINE AND SERVED [3].
[1] Named for Baiæ, a town of Campania, noted for its warm baths; a favorite resort of the Romans.
[2] Wanting in Tor.
[3] These apparently outlandish ways of cooking beans compel us to draw a modern parallel in a cookery book, specializing in Jewish dishes. To prove that Apicius is not dead "by a long shot," we shall quote from Wolf, Rebekka: Kochbuch für Israelitische Frauen, Frankfurt, 1896, 11th edition. As a matter of fact, Rebekka Wolf is outdoing Apicius in strangeness--a case of _Apicium in ipso Apicio_, as Lister sarcastically remarks of Torinus.
Rebekka Wolf: {Rx} No. 211--wash and boil the young beans in fat _bouillon_ (Apicius: _oleum et liquamen_) adding a handful of chopped pepperwort (A.: _piper, ligusticum_) and later chopped parsley (A.: _petroselinum_) some sugar (A.: _mel pavo_--little honey) and pepper. Beans later in the season are cooked with potatoes. The young beans are tied with flour dissolved in water, or with roux.
_Id. ibid._, {Rx} No. 212, Beans Sweet-Sour. Boil in water, fat, salt, add vinegar, sugar or syrup, "English aromatics" and spices, lemon peel, and a little pepper; bind with roux.
_Id. ibid._, {Rx} No. 213, Cut Pickled Beans (_Schneidebohnen_) prepare as {Rx} No. 212, but if you would have them more delicious, take instead of the roux grated chocolate, sugar, cinnamon, lemon peel and lemon juice, and some claret. If not sour enough, add vinegar, but right here you must add more fat; you may lay on top of this dish a bouquet of sliced apples.
_Id. ibid._, {Rx} No. 214, Beans and Pears. Take cut and pickled beans and prepare as above. To this add peeled fresh pears, cut into quarters; then sugar, lemon peel cut thin, cinnamon, "English" mixed spices, and at last the roux, thinned with broth. This dish must be sweet and very fat.
As for exotic combinations, Apicius surely survives here, is even surpassed by this Jewish cookery book where, no doubt, very ancient traditions have been stored away.
[206] THE HERB FENUGREEK _F{OE}NUM GRÆCUM_ [1]
FENUGREEK [is prepared] IN BROTH, OIL AND WINE.
[1] Tor. or _fenum_; G.-V. _Fænum_.
[207] GREEN STRING BEANS AND CHICK-PEAS _PHASEOLI _[1]_ VIRIDES ET CICER_
Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)
What these numbers assume: 7 portions
| Ingredient | Portion assumed | kcal |
|---|---|---|
| Lemon | juice of 1 lemon (48ml) | 12 |
| Black Pepper | 1 tsp ground (2.3g) | 6 |
| Cinnamon | 1 tsp ground (2.6g) | 6 |
| Mustard | 1 tsp (5g) yellow | 3 |
| Vinegar | 1 tbsp (15ml) distilled | 3 |
| Parsley | 1 tbsp chopped fresh (3.8g) | 1 |
| Salt | 1 tsp (6g) | 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.
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Parsley + lemontop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together14,037 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).
-
Parsley + peppertop 2% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together34,122 recipes
Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).
-
Pepper + lemontop 3% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together27,047 recipes
Shared aroma: trans-2-nonenal (cardboard, fatty).
-
Lemon + cinnamontop 7% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together7,950 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).
-
Mustard + cinnamontop 7% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together1,581 recipes
Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
Swap the cinnamon
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (mustard, vinegar, parsley, pepper, lemon):
- Tarragonfits better
- Dillfits better
- Thymefits better
- Cinnamonthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against mustard, vinegar, parsley, pepper, lemon. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.
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