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 ↓
Fried Fish
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare
Roll the fish in bread crumbs or corn meal.
Heat enough lard or oil in a pan to cover the fish.
Fry
Fry the fish in hot grease until browned on one side.
Turn the fish over and brown the other side.
Drain the fish on paper in a warm oven.
Serve
Serve very hot, garnished with parsley and sliced lemon.
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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Fish + breadtop 10% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together1,668 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-undecenal (sweet).
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Fish + lemontop 15% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together1,889 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
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Bread + parsleytop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together8,588 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).
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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
- The main protein, which cooks through in the hot fat while its coating browns.
- Bread crumbs or corn meal
- Forms a crisp, browned coating that protects the fish from drying out in the fat.
- Lard or oil
- Conducts heat evenly and fries the coating to a golden, crisp surface.
The step that matters
Frying in hot grease until browned on one side. If the fat is not hot enough, the coating absorbs grease and turns soggy instead of crisping. Enough fat covering the fish keeps the heat even, so both sides brown well.
“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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