Name: Boiled Cod with Anchovies
Ingredients: 1 piece of crimped cod; coarse sea salt; water; 12 anchovies; parsley; potato balls; Dutch sauce

Why it works: Parsley and potato are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 5% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 2,855 recipes. Both carry 4'-methylacetophenone, which smells bitter almond. The science ↓

Boiled Cod with Anchovies

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare

Place the crimped cod on a dish and sprinkle it liberally with coarse sea salt.
Put the cod on a strainer in a fish kettle.
Add enough water to cover the cod.

Cook and serve

Cook until the cod is done.
Serve with anchovies, parsley, potato balls, and Dutch sauce.

Recipe from a historical cookbook (Internet Archive).

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.

Parsley + potatotop 5% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together2,855 recipes

Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).
Parsley + saucetop 23% of all pairs

Smell alikelow

Cooked together6,693 recipes

Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
Potato + saucetop 25% of all pairs

Smell alikelow

Cooked together1,073 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: Forms the main body of the dish, cooked gently in water until it flakes.
Coarse sea salt: Seasons the cod's surface before cooking, adding flavor to the fish.
Anchovies: Adds a salty, savory note that contrasts with the mild cod.