Why it works: Carrot and parsley match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 8,053 recipes. Both carry 2,4-decadienal, which smells seaweed. The science ↓
Modern Cookery
Ingredients
Directions
The book gives no oven temperature. The 400°F (200°C) in the steps was added when the recipe was transcribed, as a starting point.
Roast the duck
Truss the duck firmly and roast it halfway in a 400°F (200°C) oven.
Stew
In a stewpan, combine the duck with a small bunch of green onions, parsley, and young carrots.
Fry minced shallots in butter and use them to flavor the gravy.
Add green peas or turnips au beurre to the dish.
Cover the duck with boiling gravy and turn it occasionally.
Stew for 1 to 1.25 hours until cooked through.
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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Carrot + parsleytop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together8,053 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).
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Parsley + shallottop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together3,737 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).
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Shallot + peastop 5% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together173 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-octenal (fatty, green).
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Carrot + oniontop 6% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together21,601 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
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Onion + beeftop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together17,092 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Duck
- Provides the main protein and rich fat that flavors the dish as it cooks.
- Beef stock
- Forms the gravy that moistens the duck and carries flavor during stewing.
- Shallots
- Fried in butter, they add a mild aromatic sweetness to the gravy.
- Green peas
- Add fresh sweetness and a tender texture to the finished dish.
The step that matters
Covering the duck with boiling gravy. Starting with boiling gravy helps the duck come back to heat quickly and keeps the stewing liquid hot, while turning it occasionally lets all sides cook evenly and stay moist.
Swap the peas
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (carrot, onion, parsley, shallot, butter, beef):
- Chickpeafits better
- Lentilsfits better
- Beansfits better
- Peasthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against carrot, onion, parsley, shallot, butter, beef. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.
“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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