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 ↓
Boiled Fish
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare and cook
Wrap the fish in a cloth.
Place it in a pot with enough cold water to cover it.
Add vinegar and salt to the water.
Boil the fish for 30 minutes.
Serve
Serve on a hot platter, garnished with parsley, lemon slices, hard boiled eggs, and capers.
Pour drawn butter sauce over the fish.
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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Parsley + lemontop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together14,037 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).
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Parsley + caperstop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together1,550 recipes
Shared aroma: coumarin (sweet, hay).
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Lemon + caperstop 5% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together1,222 recipes
Shared aroma: coumarin (sweet, hay).
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Capers + saucetop 11% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together678 recipes
Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
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Fish + buttertop 12% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together4,488 recipes
Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Fish
- Is the main component, cooked gently in simmering water until it flakes.
- Vinegar
- Adds a sharp acidity that brightens the mild flavour of the fish.
- Capers
- Add a briny, sharp bite that contrasts with the rich butter sauce.
- Drawn butter sauce
- Adds richness and moisture that offsets the leanness of the cooked fish.
The step that matters
Boil the fish for 30 minutes. Boiling too hard or too long can break up the flesh and make it dry and tough. Keeping the water at a gentle simmer cooks the fish evenly and keeps it moist.
“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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