Name: Sturgeon Stewed
Ingredients: Sturgeon; Coarse sea salt; Parsley; Shallots; Cream

Why it works: Parsley and shallot match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 3,737 recipes. Both carry 2,4-decadienal, which smells seaweed. The science ↓

Sturgeon Stewed

Ingredients

Directions

Cut the sturgeon into pieces.
Season with coarse sea salt.
Prepare the fish as you would tench.
Add finely chopped parsley, shallots, and cream.
Cook until the fish is tender.

Recipe from a historical cookbook (Internet Archive).

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.

Parsley + shallottop 1% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together3,737 recipes

Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).
Sturgeon + creamtop 15% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together26 recipes

Shared aroma: 1-octene-3-one (sweet, fruity).
Sturgeon + shallottop 22% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together21 recipes

Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).
Sturgeon + parsleytop 22% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together137 recipes

Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).
Shallot + creamtop 28% of all pairs

Smell alikelow

Cooked together789 recipes

Shared aroma: octanal (fat, soap).