Why it works: Fish and parsley are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 18% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 2,341 recipes. Both carry 2,4-decadienal, which smells seaweed. The science ↓
Boiled Fish with Hollandaise Sauce
Ingredients
Directions
Draw the fish at the gills without splitting it open.
For a large fish, place it in cold water; for a small fish, use boiling water.
If using a cloth instead of a fish kettle, wrap the fish securely in the cloth.
Sew the fish in the shape of an 'S' with a cord, fastening it tightly.
Cook the fish until done, then loosen the strings to retain its shape.
Serve the fish on a platter with Hollandaise sauce poured around it and garnish with parsley.
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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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
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