Why it works: Parsley and lemon match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 14,037 recipes. Both carry beta-phellandrene, which smells minty, terpene. The science ↓
Liver and Bacon
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare
Melt the dripping in a frying pan over medium heat.
Dredge the liver slices in flour and fry them in the pan until cooked through.
Fry the bacon until crispy.
Serve
Place the liver on a hot dish and top with the bacon.
Garnish with parsley and lemon slices.
Serve with melted butter or a sauce made from butter and 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 + lemontop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together14,037 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).
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Flour + buttertop 12% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together124,287 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Flour + parsleytop 12% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together16,675 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Parsley + buttertop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together28,563 recipes
Shared aroma: trans-2-hexenal (green, leafy).
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Lemon + buttertop 16% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together41,227 recipes
Shared aroma: 3-hexenal (apple, fruity).
Flour and butter barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 124,287 recipes: they work on texture and structure more than aroma.
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Calf's liver
- Forms the main body of the dish, cooking to a tender, firm texture when fried.
- Flour
- Coats the liver so it browns in the fat and forms a light crust.
- Dripping
- Fat for frying that carries heat evenly and adds savoury flavour to the liver.
- Bacon
- Crisps in the pan, adding salty, smoky fat and crunch on top of the liver.
- Butter
- Adds richness and a smooth, fatty flavour when served melted or as a sauce.
The step that matters
Frying the liver until cooked through. Liver turns dry and grainy if overcooked, while undercooked liver is unsafe to eat. Cooking it briefly over steady heat keeps it tender and fully cooked through.
“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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