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 ↓
Boiled Cod-fish
Ingredients
Directions
The book says “a brisk oven”. The 400°F (200°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.
Prepare the fish
Soak the cod in salt overnight.
Fill a fish kettle two-thirds full with boiling water, add vinegar and salt.
Place the fish in a drainer and plunge it into the boiling water for 30 minutes.
While the fish is boiling, separate the flesh and remove the four fillets.
Roll each fillet like a jelly cake and place them in a greased tin.
Squeeze lemon juice over the fillets and cover with greased kitchen paper.
Bake the fillets in a 400°F (200°C) oven for 10 minutes.
Make the sauce
Boil the heads and skins of the fish in cold water for 5 minutes.
Melt butter in a saucepan, add flour and the liquid from boiling the heads and skins, and boil for 2 minutes while stirring.
Remove from heat and add cream, pepper, and salt.
Serve
Place the fillets in a flat dish, pour the sauce around them, and sprinkle with chopped parsley.
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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Butter + creamtop 8% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together41,516 recipes
Shared aroma: delta-dodecalactone (sweet, creamy).
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Butter + fishtop 12% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together4,488 recipes
Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).
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Butter + flourtop 12% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together124,287 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Flour + parsleytop 12% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together16,675 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
Butter and flour 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
- Cod
- Forms the main body of the dish, with flesh that flakes into fillets when cooked.
- Butter
- Adds richness and fat to the sauce, carrying flavour and smoothness.
- Flour
- Thickens the sauce when cooked briefly with melted butter and liquid.
- Cream
- Adds richness and a smooth, creamy texture to the finished sauce.
- Vinegar
- Adds acidity to the poaching water, which helps keep the fish flesh firm.
The step that matters
Boil the flour and butter mixture for 2 minutes while stirring. Flour must be cooked for a short time in the hot butter and liquid so the starch swells and thickens the sauce and loses its raw floury taste. Stirring prevents lumps and scorching on the base of the pan.
Swap the parsley
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (vinegar, butter, flour, fish, cream, pepper):
- Tarragonfits better
- Parsleythe original
- Nutmegfits about as well
- Capersfits about as well
Fit is the average pairing score against vinegar, butter, flour, fish, cream, pepper. 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.
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