Why it works: Pepper and parsley match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 2% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 34,122 recipes. Both carry 4'-methylacetophenone, which smells bitter almond. The science ↓
Lamb Steaks
Ingredients
Directions
Season the lamb steaks with salt and pepper.
Fry the steaks until they are a beautiful brown.
When serving, sprinkle a good quantity of fried bread crumbs and crimped parsley over the steaks.
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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Pepper + parsleytop 2% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together34,122 recipes
Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).
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Lamb + parsleytop 11% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together1,322 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).
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Lamb + peppertop 12% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together3,165 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
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Lamb + breadtop 14% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together598 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-undecenal (sweet).
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Bread + parsleytop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together8,588 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Lamb steaks
- Main protein; frying browns the surface, adding savoury flavour and a contrast with the tender interior.
- Bread crumbs
- Adds a crisp, golden texture on top of the soft, browned meat.
The step that matters
Fry the steaks until they are a beautiful brown. Browning comes from the Maillard reaction, which needs a hot, dry surface. Crowding the pan or leaving the steaks wet steams them grey instead, losing the flavour and colour.
“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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