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 ↓
Broiled Fish
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare
Preheat the broiler.
Open the fish down the front and remove the bones.
Wash and dry the fish.
Place the fish on a well-greased broiling pan.
Rub the fish with butter, salt, and pepper.
Broil and serve
Broil until the fish is a delicate brown.
Remove the fish carefully from the pan.
Serve hot with butter sauce, garnished with parsley or watercress and lemon wedges.
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.
Photo for illustrative purposes only · Contact us to use it
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).
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Pepper + parsleytop 2% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together34,122 recipes
Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).
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Pepper + lemontop 3% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together27,047 recipes
Shared aroma: trans-2-nonenal (cardboard, fatty).
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Fish + buttertop 12% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together4,488 recipes
Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).
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Butter + parsleytop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together28,563 recipes
Shared aroma: trans-2-hexenal (green, leafy).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Fish
- Forms the main body of the dish and cooks to a delicate, flaky texture under the heat.
- Butter
- Adds richness and moisture, and helps the surface take on a golden brown color under the broiler.
The step that matters
Broil until the fish is a delicate brown. Broiling is fast and intense, so the fish can dry out or overcook before the surface browns. Watching closely and removing it once it turns delicately brown keeps the flesh moist and tender.
“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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