Why it works: Butter and parsley are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 15% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 28,563 recipes. Both carry trans-2-hexenal, which smells green, leafy. The science ↓
Anchovy Butter
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare
Scald and chop the parsley.
Wash and bone the anchovies.
Make the butter
Pound the anchovies, butter, and parsley together until well combined.
Shape into small pats or molds.
Finish
Garnish with additional 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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Butter + parsleytop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together28,563 recipes
Shared aroma: trans-2-hexenal (green, leafy).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Anchovies
- Provide a salty, savory depth that seasons the butter from within.
- Butter
- Supplies fat for a rich, creamy texture and carries the other flavors.
- Parsley
- Adds a fresh, herbal aroma that lightens the richness of the butter.
The step that matters
Pound until well combined. Thorough pounding spreads the anchovy and parsley evenly through the butter, so each portion tastes consistent rather than having streaks of salty fish or clumps of herb.
“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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