Why it works: Parsley and nutmeg match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 3% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 5,062 recipes. Both carry 4'-methylacetophenone, which smells bitter almond. The science ↓
Veal Soup
Ingredients
Directions
Place the veal legs in a pot with boiling water and skim the surface.
Once skimmed, add butter to the pot.
Boil the rice separately until cooked.
When the soup is done, remove the bones and meat, then strain the soup.
Add the cooked rice to the strained soup and bring to a boil.
In a dish, beat the egg yolk with a little water, then add chopped parsley and nutmeg.
Pour the egg mixture over the soup 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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Parsley + nutmegtop 3% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together5,062 recipes
Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).
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Rice + nutmegtop 9% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together1,779 recipes
Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).
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Rice + parsleytop 10% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together2,762 recipes
Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).
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Butter + parsleytop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together28,563 recipes
Shared aroma: trans-2-hexenal (green, leafy).
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Butter + ricetop 16% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together9,645 recipes
Shared aroma: trans-2-nonenal (cardboard, fatty).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
Swap the parsley
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (veal, butter, rice, egg, nutmeg):
- Cinnamonfits better
- Parsleythe original
- Turmericfits about as well
- Capersfits less well
Fit is the average pairing score against veal, butter, rice, egg, nutmeg. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.
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