Why it works: Parsley and lemon match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and 14,036 recipes mention both. Both carry beta-phellandrene, which smells minty, terpene. The science ↓
The recipe
Ingredients
Contains: milk, fish, shellfish (auto-detected from the ingredients and method; we can miss things, so check labels)
Directions
Prepare
Rub a little coarse sea salt along the bone and thick part of the cod.
Tie the cod up and place it in a pot with enough cold water to cover it completely.
Add a handful of coarse sea salt to the water.
Cook
Bring the water to a boil and then reduce to a simmer until the cod is cooked through.
Carefully remove any black specks or scum from the surface while cooking.
Garnish and serve
Garnish the cod with double parsley, lemon, horseradish, milt, roe, liver, and fried smelts if desired.
Serve with plenty of oyster or shrimp sauce, and anchovy and butter.
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 aroma chemistry they share, and how many recipes mention both.
-
Parsley + lemontop 1% of all pairsAroma overlapstrongMentioned together14,036 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).
-
Roe + anchovytop 4% of all pairsAroma overlapmoderateMentioned together64 recipes
Shared aroma: 1-octen-3-ol (mushroom, earthy).
-
Oyster + anchovytop 4% of all pairsAroma overlapstrongMentioned together601 recipes
Shared aroma: 1-octen-3-ol (mushroom, earthy).
-
Liver + anchovytop 5% of all pairsAroma overlaplowMentioned together197 recipes
Shared aroma: hexanol (green, fruity).
-
Roe + oystertop 6% of all pairsAroma overlapstrongMentioned together58 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,6-nonadienal (cucumber, green).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Cod
- Forms the main body of the dish, cooked gently until its flesh turns opaque and flakes.
- Coarse sea salt
- Seasons the fish directly and draws out surface moisture before cooking.
- Anchovy and butter
- Adds savory richness and fat that complements the mild, lean flesh of the cod.
The step that matters
Simmer, do not boil hard. Vigorous boiling toughens and breaks up delicate fish protein, while a gentle simmer cooks it evenly and keeps the flesh moist and intact.
Flavor stand-ins for the horseradish
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (parsley, lemon, roe, liver, smelt, oyster, anchovy):
- Shallotbetter flavor fit
- Potatoabout as good a flavor fit
- Tomatoabout as good a flavor fit
- Horseradishthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against parsley, lemon, roe, liver, smelt, oyster, anchovy. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes. This compares flavor only: it does not check the job the ingredient does in the dish (bulk, moisture, acidity, structure).
“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.
More boiled cod recipes
You might also like
Illustration
Illustration
Illustration
IllustrationThe Sunday pairing: one pairing, the chemistry behind it, and how to cook it. No spam, unsubscribe anytime.
Prefer an account? Create a free account for sign-in; Pro adds the full results and chemistry.