Why it works: Parsley and onion are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 9% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 25,843 recipes. Both carry 2,4-decadienal, which smells seaweed. The science ↓
Fried Sea Bass
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare
Score the fish on the back with a knife, and season them with salt and cayenne pepper.
Cut some small onions in round slices, and chop fine a bunch of parsley.
Fry
Put some butter into a frying-pan over the fire, and when it is boiling hot lay in the fish.
When they are about half done put the onions and parsley into the pan.
Keep turning the fish so the onions and parsley may adhere to both sides.
When quite done, put them into the dish in which they are to go to table, and garnish the edge of the dish with hard boiled eggs cut in round slices.
Make the gravy and serve
Make in the pan in which they have been fried, a gravy, by adding some butter rolled in flour, and a small quantity of vinegar.
Pour it into the dish with the fish.
Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)
What these numbers assume: 3 portions
| Ingredient | Portion assumed | kcal |
|---|---|---|
| Onion | 1 medium (110g) | 44 |
| 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.
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Parsley + oniontop 9% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together25,843 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).
-
Onion + vinegartop 14% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together18,226 recipes
Shared aroma: acetic acid (sour, vinegar).
-
Parsley + vinegartop 16% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together6,477 recipes
Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Fish (in the method)
- Forms the main body of the dish, cooked through by frying in butter.
- Onions
- Soften and add sweetness and savour as they fry with the fish.
- Parsley
- Adds fresh, herbal aroma and colour to the fried fish.
- Butter (in the method)
- Conducts heat for frying and browns the fish, and thickens the gravy with flour.
- Vinegar
- Adds acidity that sharpens the buttery gravy.
The step that matters
Turning the fish while it fries. Turning keeps the onions and parsley sticking evenly to both sides and helps the fish cook without burning. Frying in butter that is hot but not burnt gives even browning, while frequent turning prevents one side from scorching.
Swap the parsley
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (onion, vinegar):
- Garlicfits better
- Tarragonfits better
- Thymefits about as well
- Parsleythe original
Fit is the average pairing score against onion, vinegar. 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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