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 Fish
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare
Weigh the fish and bind it in thin muslin or coarse cheesecloth.
Fill a large kettle with water and add coarse sea salt to taste.
Poach the fish
Bring the water to a boil, then reduce heat slightly before adding the fish.
Add 8 tablespoons of vinegar to the water for a large fish.
Keep the water boiling and cook for 6 minutes per pound, plus an additional 6 minutes for large fish.
Do not pierce the fish; ensure the water remains at a steady boil.
Serve
Serve with drawn butter, sliced hard-boiled eggs, parsley, sliced lemons, and optional tomato ketchup.
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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Parsley + tomatotop 8% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together5,398 recipes
Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).
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Lemon + tomatotop 11% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together4,592 recipes
Shared aroma: 3-hexenal (apple, fruity).
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Fish + buttertop 12% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together4,488 recipes
Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).
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Butter + parsleytop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together28,563 recipes
Shared aroma: trans-2-hexenal (green, leafy).
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, cooked gently in simmering water until flaky.
- Vinegar
- Adds acidity that brightens the flavour of the poached fish.
- Hard-boiled eggs
- Add a soft, rich texture and mild flavour to the served dish.
- Drawn butter
- Adds richness and fat that complements the mild poached fish.
The step that matters
Keep the water at a steady boil without piercing the fish. Piercing the fish lets juices and flavour escape into the water, and letting the water drop too low slows cooking and can leave the fish unevenly done. A steady boil keeps the fish moist and cooked through.
Swap the tomato
The recipe marks tomato as optional. How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (fish, vinegar, butter, egg, parsley, lemon, ketchup):
- Shallotfits better
- Horseradishfits better
- Chivefits better
- Tomatothe original
Fit is the average pairing score against fish, vinegar, butter, egg, parsley, lemon, ketchup. 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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