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 ↓
Fricassee Sauce
Ingredients
Directions
Make the sauce
In a saucepan, bring water to a boil.
Stir in the egg yolks, lemon juice, butter, salt, nutmeg, and water constantly until the sauce thickens.
For a richer sauce, substitute water with veal gravy mixed with chopped parsley.
Serve
If using fricassee, lift the meat from the saucepan, drain, and place in a hot dish.
Just before serving, stir in cayenne pepper and pour the sauce over the meat.
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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Pepper + parsleytop 2% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together34,122 recipes
Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).
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Lemon + peppertop 3% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together27,047 recipes
Shared aroma: trans-2-nonenal (cardboard, fatty).
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Nutmeg + parsleytop 3% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together5,062 recipes
Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).
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Lemon + nutmegtop 5% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together11,318 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Egg yolks
- Thicken the sauce and add richness as they set gently with heat.
- Butter
- Adds fat for a smooth, rich texture and silky mouthfeel.
- Lemon juice
- Adds acidity that brightens the sauce and balances the richness of the yolks and butter.
The step that matters
Stirring the sauce constantly while it thickens. Egg yolks set at low heat and can scramble if they overheat or sit still. Constant stirring spreads the heat evenly, so the sauce thickens smoothly instead of curdling.
“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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