Why it works: Parsley and pepper match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 2% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 34,122 recipes. Both carry 4'-methylacetophenone, which smells bitter almond. The science ↓
Stuffed Haddock
Ingredients
Directions
The book gives no oven temperature. The 350°F (175°C) in the steps was added when the recipe was transcribed, as a starting point.
Prepare the stuffing
Wash the fish thoroughly.
In a bowl, mix together the bread crumbs, chopped suet, egg, milk, parsley, salt, and pepper.
Stuff and dress the fish
Stuff the fish with the mixture and sew it up.
Truss the fish in the shape of the letter 'G'.
Brush the fish with milk and sprinkle with bread crumbs.
Dot the top with small pieces of butter.
Bake
Bake in a preheated oven at 350°F (175°C) for 30 minutes.
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 + peppertop 2% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together34,122 recipes
Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).
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Bread + buttertop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together27,232 recipes
Shared aroma: delta-decalactone (sweet, creamy).
-
Milk + buttertop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together81,283 recipes
Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).
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Bread + milktop 11% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together11,466 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-undecenal (sweet).
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Bread + eggtop 13% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together22,662 recipes
Shared aroma: (e)-2-octenal (fatty, green).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Haddock
- Forms the main body that the stuffing is packed into and cooked within.
- Bread crumbs
- Bind the stuffing and add body, and brown on the surface when baked.
- Suet
- Adds fat to the stuffing, keeping it moist and rich as it cooks.
- Egg
- Binds the stuffing so it holds together when sliced.
- Milk
- Moistens the stuffing and the surface, helping the crumbs brown evenly.
The step that matters
Stuffing the fish and sewing it up. If the stuffing is packed too loosely or the seam is not closed well, it can fall out during baking. Filling firmly and trussing the fish holds the stuffing in place while it cooks.
Swap the parsley
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (haddock, bread, egg, milk, pepper, butter):
- Parsleythe original
- Nutmegfits about as well
- Cinnamonfits less well
- Capersfits less well
Fit is the average pairing score against haddock, bread, egg, milk, pepper, 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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