Why it works: Lemon and parsley 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 ↓
Boiled Fish
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare the fish
Wash the fish in cold water and wipe it dry.
Pin the fish in a piece of strong white cotton cloth to prevent breaking.
Boil the fish
Cover the fish with boiling water and add the salt.
Cook gently; avoid rapid boiling to prevent breaking.
Cook for 30 minutes for a 4 to 6-pound fish, adding 3 minutes for each additional pound.
If using white fish, add lemon juice to the water.
Serve
Once cooked, remove the fish from the kettle and drain well.
Serve on a hot platter garnished with parsley sprigs.
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.
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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Lemon + parsleytop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together14,037 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).
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Fish + lemontop 15% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together1,889 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
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Fish + parsleytop 18% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together2,341 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
- Fish
- Provides the main protein that cooks through gently in the simmering water.
- Lemon juice
- Adds acidity that brightens the mild flavour of white fish.
The step that matters
Cook gently without rapid boiling. Vigorous boiling agitates the water and can tear the delicate flesh, so the fish stays whole only when kept at a gentle simmer.
“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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