Why it works: Carrot and parsley match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 8,053 recipes. Both carry 2,4-decadienal, which smells seaweed. The science ↓
Carrots with Parsley
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare
Divide boiled carrots lengthwise; if very large, cut again.
Slice carrots to the thickness of a silver quarter.
Parboil and chop parsley.
Cook and serve
In a stewpan, combine sliced carrots, chopped parsley, butter, pepper, salt, and cold gravy.
Heat over the fire until hot and serve.
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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Carrot + parsleytop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together8,053 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).
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Parsley + peppertop 2% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together34,122 recipes
Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).
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Carrot + peppertop 6% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together14,555 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
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Parsley + buttertop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together28,563 recipes
Shared aroma: trans-2-hexenal (green, leafy).
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Butter + peppertop 21% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together85,593 recipes
Shared aroma: trans-2-nonenal (cardboard, fatty).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Boiled carrots
- Form the main body of the dish and provide its sweet, tender texture.
- Butter
- Adds richness and moisture, coating the carrots and carrying flavor.
- Cold gravy
- Supplies moisture and savory depth as it heats and thins into a sauce.
The step that matters
Heat over the fire until hot and serve. Heating gently while stirring helps the gravy and butter coat the carrots evenly without scorching on the base of the stewpan. Overheating can dry the carrots or break the butter, so serve once the mixture is just hot.
“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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