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 ↓
Salmon Cutlets
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare the cutlets
In a bowl, combine the minced fish, salt, pepper, parsley, and lemon juice.
Mix in the white sauce until well combined.
Shape the mixture into cutlet forms.
Coat each cutlet in crumbs, then dip in the beaten egg, and coat again in crumbs.
Fry and serve
Fry the cutlets in deep hot fat until golden brown.
Serve with paper ruffles stuck in the small end of each cutlet, placing the large end to the center of the platter.
Pour around them a Hollandaise or white 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 + lemontop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together14,037 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).
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Pepper + parsleytop 2% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together34,122 recipes
Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).
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Pepper + lemontop 3% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together27,047 recipes
Shared aroma: trans-2-nonenal (cardboard, fatty).
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Fish + lemontop 15% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together1,889 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
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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
- Cold fish
- Provides the main body and flavor of the cutlets.
- White sauce
- Adds moisture and binds the minced fish so it holds its shape.
- Egg
- Acts as a binder and, with the crumbs, helps form a crisp golden coating.
- Lemon juice
- Adds acidity that brightens the flavor of the fish.
The step that matters
Fry the cutlets in deep hot fat until golden brown. Frying in hot fat sets the egg and crumb coating quickly and browns it, which keeps the cutlet from absorbing excess fat and holds its shape. Fat that is too cool lets the coating soak up oil and fall apart.
“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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