Why it works: Parsley and celery match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 6,810 recipes. Both carry 4'-methylacetophenone, which smells bitter almond. The science ↓
Stuffed Chops
Ingredients
Directions
Make a stuffing with fine bread crumbs, chopped ham, parsley, half an onion, and a green onion.
Spread the mixture on the chops.
Combine cold boiled tongue, chopped fine, with pepper and blanched almonds, and spread on the chops.
Roll the chops tightly, tie them, and simmer in enough stock to cover until tender.
Season the stock with half a sliced onion, a bay leaf, a root of celery, and four cloves.
Allow the chops to cool in the stock, then slice thin.
Garnish with nasturtiums or olives and watercress.
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 + celerytop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together6,810 recipes
Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).
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Parsley + peppertop 2% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together34,122 recipes
Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).
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Pepper + clovetop 5% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together17,451 recipes
Shared aroma: ethyl octanoate (fruity, wine).
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Pepper + celerytop 5% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together16,012 recipes
Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).
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Celery + clovetop 6% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together4,668 recipes
Shared aroma: gamma-decalactone (peach, creamy).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
Swap the almond
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (bread, ham, parsley, onion, pepper, celery, clove):
- Lentilsfits better
- Beansfits better
- Chickpeafits better
- Almondthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against bread, ham, parsley, onion, pepper, celery, clove. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.
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