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: wheat, fish (auto-detected from the ingredients and method; we can miss things, so check labels)
Directions
Make the sauce
In a stewpan, combine the strong stock, chopped shallot, dried herbs, and parsley.
Rub the flour with a little stock until smooth, then add to the stewpan.
Let the mixture simmer for 10 minutes.
Finish and serve
Sprinkle the cold fish flakes with salt and add them to the stewpan.
Simmer for an additional 10 minutes.
Just before serving, stir in the lemon juice and mushroom ketchup.
Serve the fish in the sauce.
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.
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Parsley + lemontop 1% of all pairsAroma overlapstrongMentioned together14,036 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).
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Shallot + parsleytop 3% of all pairsAroma overlapmoderateMentioned together3,718 recipes
Shared aroma: coumarin (sweet, hay).
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Shallot + mushroomtop 3% of all pairsAroma overlapmoderateMentioned together1,960 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-octenal (fatty, green).
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Mushroom + fishtop 4% of all pairsAroma overlapstrongMentioned together444 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
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Shallot + lemontop 5% of all pairsAroma overlapmoderateMentioned together2,484 recipes
Shared aroma: eucalyptol (eucalyptus, herbal).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Flour
- Thickens the stock into a smooth sauce as it simmers.
- Mushroom ketchup
- Adds savoury, umami depth to the sauce.
- Lemon juice
- Adds acidity that brightens the sauce and balances the savoury flavours.
- Strong stock
- Forms the flavourful liquid base of the sauce.
The step that matters
Stir in the lemon juice and mushroom ketchup just before serving. Acid and savoury seasonings can taste sharp or muted after long simmering. Adding them at the end keeps their flavour fresh and bright, so the sauce tastes balanced.
“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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