Name: Mushroom Fritters
Ingredients: Mushroom forcemeat; Flour; Batter (see Batter); Boiling oil (for frying); Coarse sea salt (formerly 'bay salt'); Fried parsley (for serving)

Why it works: Mushroom and parsley are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 11% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 6,132 recipes. Both carry 2,4-decadienal, which smells seaweed. The science ↓

Mushroom Fritters

Ingredients

Directions

Shape the mushroom forcemeat into slightly oval rounds.
Heat oil in a saucepan to 350°F (175°C).
Flour the rounds to make them dry on the outside.
Dip the rounds into the batter and carefully place them in the boiling oil.
Fry until the batter is light brown, then remove with a frying basket.
Drain on a cloth and break off excess batter pieces.
Serve on a folded napkin surrounded by fried 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.

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.

Mushroom + parsleytop 11% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together6,132 recipes

Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).
Flour + parsleytop 12% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together16,675 recipes

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

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together8,253 recipes

Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).