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 ↓
Crimped Cod-fish
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare
Soak the cod-fish slices in ice water for 2 hours.
Poach
In a stew pan, cover the fish with salted boiling water.
Simmer for about 10 minutes.
Serve
Place the fish on a platter lined with a folded napkin.
Garnish with parsley and fill the cavities with tartare or pickle 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.
-
Fish + parsleytop 18% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together2,341 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).
-
Fish + saucetop 20% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together1,487 recipes
Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
-
Parsley + saucetop 23% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together6,693 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
- Cod-fish
- Forms the main body of the dish, cooking into flaky, tender pieces.
- Tartare or pickle sauce
- Adds acidity and richness that contrast with the mild, delicate fish.
The step that matters
Simmer for about 10 minutes. Keep the water at a gentle simmer rather than a hard boil. Vigorous boiling can break the fish apart and toughen its proteins, leaving it dry and ragged.
Swap the parsley
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (fish, sauce):
- Capersfits better
- Tarragonfits better
- Gingerfits better
- Parsleythe original
Fit is the average pairing score against fish, sauce. 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.
You might also like
Fried Fish120 recipes
Fish Croquettes81 recipes
Scalloped Cod69 recipes
Broiled Fish68 recipesThe free Flavor Lab newsletter: one surprising pairing a week and the molecular reason it works, in 60 seconds. No spam, unsubscribe anytime.
Prefer an account? Create a free account to save pairings and unlock the full chemistry.