Why it works: Lemon and parsley 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 ↓
Remove Haddock, Hollaiid Style
Ingredients
Directions
The book gives no cooking times; the times in the steps were added in transcription, so check for doneness rather than trusting the clock.
Prepare the fish
Clean the haddock and remove the head and tail.
Poach
Place the fish in a pot of salted water and bring to a boil.
Simmer until the fish is cooked through, about 15 minutes.
Remove the fish from the pot and drain.
Serve
Serve with melted butter, a squeeze of lemon juice, and chopped 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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Lemon + parsleytop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together14,037 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).
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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 + lemontop 16% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together41,227 recipes
Shared aroma: 3-hexenal (apple, fruity).
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Haddock + buttertop 16% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together764 recipes
Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
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Haddock + lemontop 23% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together299 recipes
Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
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 of the dish, cooking to flaky, opaque flesh with gentle heat.
- Butter
- Adds richness and moisture, coating the fish with fat when served melted.
- Lemon juice
- Adds acidity that brightens the rich butter and balances the mild fish.
The step that matters
Simmer until the fish is cooked through. Fish protein sets quickly and becomes dry and tough if overcooked, so the fish should be checked for opaque, flaky flesh rather than left for a fixed time.
“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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