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 ↓
Rice Croquettes, Savoury
Ingredients
Directions
Boil rice in stock or water until tender and absorbed.
Chop onion finely and fry in a little butter until tender, without browning.
Add herbs and parsley to the onion and cook for 2-3 minutes.
Combine onion mixture with rice and let it dry in the oven until rollable.
Separate yolk from one egg, beat whole egg and one white together.
Mix rice mixture with beaten eggs thoroughly.
Roll mixture into balls the size of small walnuts, seasoning with pepper and salt.
Coat balls in flour.
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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Parsley + peppertop 2% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together34,122 recipes
Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).
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Onion + parsleytop 9% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together25,843 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).
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Rice + oniontop 9% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together10,433 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).
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Rice + parsleytop 10% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together2,762 recipes
Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).
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Onion + peppertop 11% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together68,474 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
Swap the onion
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (rice, parsley, egg, pepper, flour, butter):
- Shallotfits better
- Chivefits better
- Leekfits better
- Onionthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against rice, parsley, egg, pepper, flour, butter. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.
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