Why it works: Parsley and lemon 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 ↓
Boiled Shad
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare and cook
Bring a large pot of water to a boil and add a generous amount of coarse sea salt.
If desired, add 1 tablespoon of vinegar to the boiling water.
Carefully place the dressed shad on a strainer and lower it into the boiling water.
Cook for 20 to 25 minutes, being careful not to break the skin when serving.
Serve
Serve the fish on a folded napkin, garnished with parsley and sliced lemon.
If using roe, parboil it for about 10 minutes, then dip in flour and fry in butter until firm and golden brown.
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 + lemontop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together14,037 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).
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Flour + buttertop 12% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together124,287 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Parsley + flourtop 12% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together16,675 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Roe + buttertop 14% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together442 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,6-nonadienal (cucumber, green).
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Parsley + buttertop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together28,563 recipes
Shared aroma: trans-2-hexenal (green, leafy).
Flour and butter barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 124,287 recipes: they work on texture and structure more than aroma.
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Shad
- Forms the main body of the dish, cooked gently whole in simmering water.
- Coarse sea salt
- Seasons the cooking water so the fish is flavored as it cooks.
- Vinegar
- Adds a slight acidity to the cooking water, brightening the mild flavor of the fish.
The step that matters
Cook for 20 to 25 minutes without breaking the skin. Fish protein sets as it heats and the skin holds the flesh together; keeping the water at a gentle boil and lowering the strainer carefully helps the shad stay intact.
“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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