Name: Fried Fish
Ingredients: Perch, roach, dace, gudgeons, or similar fish; Flour; Lard or drippings; Fresh parsley for garnish

Why it works: Flour and parsley are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 12% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 16,675 recipes. Both carry isobutyraldehyde, which smells malty, green. The science ↓

Fried Fish

Ingredients

Perch, roach, dace, gudgeons, or similar fish
Flour
Lard or drippings
Fresh parsley for garnish

Directions

Wash the fish thoroughly and wipe them dry with a cloth.
Lightly flour the fish all over.
Heat lard or drippings in a pan over high heat.
Fry the fish for ten minutes until golden brown.
Remove the fish and place them on a wire rack to drain.
Serve on a hot dish garnished with sprigs of fresh parsley.

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.

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.

Flour + parsleytop 12% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together16,675 recipes

Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
Fish + parsleytop 18% of all pairs

Smell alikelow

Cooked together2,341 recipes

Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).
Fish + flourtop 27% of all pairs

Smell alikelow

Cooked together2,532 recipes

Shared aroma: acetaldehyde (pungent, ethereal).