Whitings, with Crumbs

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.

1. Bread + buttertop 7% of all pairs
   Smell alikemoderate
   Cooked together27,232 recipes

   Shared aroma: delta-decalactone (sweet, creamy).

2. Flour + buttertop 12% of all pairs
   Smell alikelow
   Cooked together124,287 recipes

   Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).

3. Egg + breadtop 13% of all pairs
   Smell alikemoderate
   Cooked together22,662 recipes

   Shared aroma: (e)-2-octenal (fatty, green).

4. Flour + eggtop 15% of all pairs
   Smell alikelow
   Cooked together106,462 recipes

   Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).

5. Egg + buttertop 17% of all pairs
   Smell alikemoderate
   Cooked together118,967 recipes

   Shared aroma: decanal (soap, orange peel).

Flour and butter barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 124,287 recipes: they work on texture and structure more than aroma.

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

Whitings

The main fish, which the coating surrounds and protects while it cooks through.

Flour

Dry base that helps the beaten egg cling to the fish.

Egg

Binds the flour to the bread crumbs, forming a crust that sticks to the fish.

Grated bread

Forms a crisp, golden crust when fried in fat.

Butter or salad oil

Fries the coating, transferring heat to brown the crumbs and add flavour.

The step that matters