Why it works: Parsnip and flour match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 7% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 669 recipes. Both carry isobutyraldehyde, which smells malty, green. The science ↓
Fried Parsnips
Ingredients
Directions
Scrape the parsnips and boil gently in water until tender, about 1 hour.
Drain the parsnips and let them cool.
Cut the cooled parsnips into long, thin slices, about ⅓ inch thick.
Season each slice with coarse sea salt and black pepper.
Dip the slices in melted butter and flour.
Fry in hot fat until both sides are thoroughly browned.
Drain well and serve.
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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Parsnip + flourtop 7% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together669 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Parsnip + peppertop 9% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together1,109 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
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Butter + flourtop 12% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together124,287 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Pepper + flourtop 19% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together50,459 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Pepper + buttertop 21% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together85,593 recipes
Shared aroma: trans-2-nonenal (cardboard, fatty).
Butter and flour barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 124,287 recipes: they work on texture and structure more than aroma.
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
Swap the parsnip
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (pepper, butter, flour):
- Shallotfits better
- Chivefits about as well
- Capsicumfits about as well
- Parsnipthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against pepper, butter, flour. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.
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