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 ↓
Kidneys Saute
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare
Cut the bacon into neat squares and match with pieces of bread.
Slice the kidneys about as thick as a penny.
Mix flour, salt, pepper, and dried parsley on a plate.
Cook
Fry the bacon lightly and keep it hot.
Dip the bread in water for an instant before frying.
Fry the pieces of bread in the bacon fat, drain on paper, and keep hot.
Dip each kidney slice in the seasoning and toss in the bacon fat until heated through.
Assemble and serve
Arrange the bread on a hot dish, place a square of bacon on each, and top with the hot kidney slices.
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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Parsley + flourtop 12% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together16,675 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Parsley + breadtop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together8,588 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).
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Pepper + breadtop 16% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together20,964 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
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Flour + peppertop 19% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together50,459 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Sheep's kidneys
- Provide the main meat, cooked quickly so they stay tender.
- Fat streaky bacon
- Supplies fat for frying and adds savoury, salty flavour.
- Flour
- Light coating on the kidney slices that helps them brown and hold the seasoning.
- Bread
- Forms the base that soaks up the bacon fat and supports the topping.
The step that matters
Dip the kidney slices in seasoning and toss in bacon fat until heated through. Kidney turns tough and rubbery when overcooked, so it should be heated just until done and not left over high heat for long.
Swap the parsley
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (flour, pepper, bread):
- Turmericfits about as well
- Marjoramfits about as well
- Parsleythe original
- Nutmegfits about as well
Fit is the average pairing score against flour, pepper, bread. 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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