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 ↓
Fried Fish
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare
Thoroughly dry the cleaned fish.
Season with coarse sea salt and black pepper.
Roll the fish in fine bread crumbs.
Dip the fish in beaten egg.
Roll the fish in fine bread crumbs again.
Fry
Heat deep fat to 375°F (190°C).
Fry a few pieces at a time for 2 to 5 minutes until they rise to the top.
Fry parsley until crisp, without changing its color.
Drain on paper and arrange on a folded napkin.
Serve
Serve the fish hot, spread with butter, and garnish with lemon slices.
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.
Photo for illustrative purposes only · Contact us to use it
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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Pepper + parsleytop 2% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together34,122 recipes
Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).
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Pepper + lemontop 3% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together27,047 recipes
Shared aroma: trans-2-nonenal (cardboard, fatty).
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Bread + buttertop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together27,232 recipes
Shared aroma: delta-decalactone (sweet, creamy).
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Fish + breadtop 10% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together1,668 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-undecenal (sweet).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Fish
- Firm white flesh that holds its shape and turns moist and flaky when fried.
- Fine bread crumbs
- Form a crisp, golden coating that browns during frying.
- Beaten egg
- Binds the bread crumbs to the fish so the coating adheres.
- Butter
- Adds richness and flavor to the hot fish at serving.
The step that matters
Frying in deep fat. Fat must be hot enough to crisp the coating quickly; if it is too cool, the crumbs absorb oil and turn greasy and the fish cooks unevenly. Frying a few pieces at a time keeps the fat temperature steady.
“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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