Name: Cucumbers, Stuffed
Ingredients: 2 large cucumbers; 1 lb finely chopped cold meat (any kind); 2 tablespoons breadcrumbs; 1 teaspoon finely chopped parsley; ¼ teaspoon powdered mixed herbs; 2 eggs or 1 egg and a little milk; as many croutes of fried or toasted bread as there are pieces of cucumber; ½ pint brown sauce; salt and pepper to taste

Why it works: Parsley and pepper 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 ↓

Cucumbers, Stuffed

Ingredients

2 large cucumbers
1 lb finely chopped cold meat (any kind)
2 tablespoons breadcrumbs
1 teaspoon finely chopped parsley
¼ teaspoon powdered mixed herbs
2 eggs or 1 egg and a little milk
as many croutes of fried or toasted bread as there are pieces of cucumber
½ pint brown sauce
salt and pepper to taste

Directions

Prepare

Prepare and parboil the cucumbers as for 'Cucumber with Eggs.'

Make the stuffing

In a saucepan, mix the meat, breadcrumbs, parsley, and herbs, then season with salt and pepper.
Add the eggs and a little milk, mixing well.

Stuff and serve

Stuff the cucumbers with the mixture.
Serve with croutes of fried or toasted bread and brown 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 + peppertop 2% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together34,122 recipes

Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).
Cucumber + parsleytop 7% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together1,564 recipes

Shared aroma: trans-2-hexenal (green, leafy).
Cucumber + peppertop 12% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together5,991 recipes

Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
Egg + breadtop 13% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together22,662 recipes

Shared aroma: (e)-2-octenal (fatty, green).
Meat + breadtop 14% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together2,924 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

Cold meat: Forms the bulk of the filling and gives it its savoury body.
Eggs: Bind the filling so it holds together when sliced and served.
Breadcrumbs: Absorb moisture and help give the filling a firmer, less loose texture.

Swap the cucumber

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (meat, parsley, egg, bread, sauce, pepper):

Shallotfits better
Capsicumfits better
Asparagusfits better
Cucumberthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against meat, parsley, egg, bread, sauce, 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.