Why it works: Flour and parsley are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 12% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 16,675 recipes. Both carry isobutyraldehyde, which smells malty, green. The science ↓
Fried Fish
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare
Wash the fish thoroughly and wipe them dry with a cloth.
Lightly flour the fish all over.
Fry
Heat the lard or drippings in a pan.
Fry the fish for ten minutes until golden brown.
Remove the fish and place them on a wire rack to drain.
Serve
Serve on a hot dish garnished with sprigs of fresh parsley.
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.
Photo for illustrative purposes only · Contact us to use it
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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Flour + parsleytop 12% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together16,675 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Fish + parsleytop 18% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together2,341 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).
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Fish + flourtop 27% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together2,532 recipes
Shared aroma: acetaldehyde (pungent, ethereal).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Fish
- Forms the main body of the dish, cooking to a firm, flaky texture.
- Flour
- Forms a light coating that browns and crisps in the hot fat.
- Lard or drippings
- Conducts heat for frying and adds richness and browning.
The step that matters
Frying in hot fat. The fat must be hot before the fish goes in. Hot fat sears the floured surface quickly, creating a crisp crust that limits oil absorption. Fat that is too cool soaks in and makes the fish greasy.
Swap the parsley
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (fish, flour):
- Capersfits better
- Turmericfits better
- Jalapenofits better
- Parsleythe original
Fit is the average pairing score against fish, flour. 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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