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 ↓
Bread and Parsley Fritters
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare the batter
Pour boiling water over the bread and cover for 1 hour.
Beat the soaked bread with a fork until smooth.
Mix in the parsley, pepper, salt, and beaten eggs thoroughly.
Fry and serve
Fry spoonfuls of the mixture in hot oil until golden brown, about 5 minutes.
Serve with brown sauce.
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 + eggtop 13% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together22,662 recipes
Shared aroma: (e)-2-octenal (fatty, green).
-
Bread + parsleytop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together8,588 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).
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Bread + peppertop 16% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together20,964 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
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Parsley + eggtop 21% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together18,765 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
- Bread
- Soaked and beaten into a smooth base that gives the fritters their body.
- Eggs
- Bind the mixture and help it set and turn golden when fried.
- Parsley
- Adds fresh, green flavour and aroma to the fritters.
The step that matters
Frying the spoonfuls in hot oil. The oil must be hot enough to brown the outside quickly. If it is too cool, the fritters absorb excess oil and turn greasy before the centre sets.
Swap the parsley
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (bread, pepper, egg):
- Parsleythe original
- Nutmegfits about as well
- Marjoramfits less well
- Sagefits less well
Fit is the average pairing score against bread, pepper, egg. 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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