Why it works: Parsley and carrot match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 8,053 recipes. Both carry 2,4-decadienal, which smells seaweed. The science ↓
Water Souchy
Ingredients
Directions
Make the broth
In a stewpan, combine water, chopped parsley, roots, and enough coarse sea salt to make the water brackish.
Simmer for 1 hour.
Add the fish to the simmering water and cook until done.
Remove the fish and let them drain.
Serve
In a deep dish, place the fish and strain the cooking liquid over them.
Garnish with finely chopped parsley and sliced roots.
Serve with brown bread and butter.
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 + carrottop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together8,053 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).
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Carrot + turniptop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together8,002 recipes
Shared aroma: coumarin (sweet, hay).
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Parsley + turniptop 2% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together2,842 recipes
Shared aroma: coumarin (sweet, hay).
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Bread + buttertop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together27,232 recipes
Shared aroma: delta-decalactone (sweet, creamy).
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Fish + breadtop 10% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together1,668 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-undecenal (sweet).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Fish
- Is the main protein, poached gently in the seasoned broth until cooked through.
- Roots
- Release sweetness and earthy flavor into the broth as they simmer.
- Parsley
- Adds fresh, herbal aroma to the broth.
- Coarse sea salt
- Seasons the broth so the fish takes on savory flavor as it cooks.
The step that matters
Add the fish to the simmering water and cook until done. Fish is delicate and overcooks quickly, becoming dry and firm. Gentle simmering rather than a hard boil cooks it evenly and keeps the flesh moist and tender.
Swap the turnip
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (parsley, carrot, fish, bread, butter):
- Leekfits better
- Potatofits better
- Shallotfits better
- Turnipthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against parsley, carrot, fish, bread, butter. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.
“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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