Why it works: Lemon and parsley 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 ↓
Broiled Salmon
Ingredients
Directions
Cut the salmon into thick slices.
Dry the slices in a cloth.
Season with salt and pepper.
Melt butter in a pan and add the salmon.
Cook until golden brown on both sides.
Serve garnished with boiled fennel and parsley, with lemon pickle or vinegar on the side.
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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Lemon + parsleytop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together14,037 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).
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Fennel + parsleytop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together625 recipes
Shared aroma: myristicin (spice, warm).
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Lemon + fenneltop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together723 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).
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Pepper + parsleytop 2% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together34,122 recipes
Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).
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Pepper + lemontop 3% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together27,047 recipes
Shared aroma: trans-2-nonenal (cardboard, fatty).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
Swap the fennel
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (salmon, pepper, butter, lemon, parsley):
- Dillfits better
- Thymefits better
- Tarragonfits about as well
- Fennelthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against salmon, pepper, butter, lemon, parsley. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.
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