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 ↓
Fish Salad
Ingredients
Directions
Cut the lobster into oblique slices to increase their size.
Separate the cold turbot or large soles into slices.
Arrange the lobster and fish slices alternately on a serving dish.
Create a high border or chain with the fish around the dish.
Fill the center with young fresh salad.
Dress the salad with a thick French mayonnaise just before serving.
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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Turbot + anchovytop 4% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together110 recipes
Shared aroma: 1-octen-3-ol (mushroom, earthy).
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Lobster + anchovytop 4% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together470 recipes
Shared aroma: octanal (fat, soap).
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Lobster + turbottop 5% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together163 recipes
Shared aroma: octanal (fat, soap).
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Parsley + anchovytop 13% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together1,702 recipes
Shared aroma: linalool (floral, citrus).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
Swap the parsley
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (lobster, turbot, pepper, anchovy):
- Capersfits better
- Parsleythe original
- Celeryfits less well
- Thymefits less well
Fit is the average pairing score against lobster, turbot, pepper, anchovy. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.
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