Why it works: Cucumber and parsley match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 7% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 1,564 recipes. Both carry trans-2-hexenal, which smells green, leafy. The science ↓
Cucumbers a LA Poulette
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare the cucumbers
Peel the cucumbers.
Slice the cucumbers thinly or quarter them.
Remove the seeds.
Cut the cucumbers into half‑inch lengths.
Soak the cucumbers in vinegar.
Sprinkle the cucumbers with salt.
Drain the cucumbers.
Press the cucumbers dry with a soft cloth.
Dredge the cucumbers in flour.
Make the sauce
Melt butter in a saucepan over medium heat until it begins to boil.
Add the cucumbers to the saucepan.
Cook the cucumbers gently for 10 minutes without browning.
Gradually add veal stock until the cucumbers are nearly covered.
Bring the mixture to a boil.
Skim off any fat.
Season with salt and white pepper if needed.
Stir in minced parsley.
Thicken the sauce with egg yolks.
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.
-
Cucumber + parsleytop 7% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together1,564 recipes
Shared aroma: trans-2-hexenal (green, leafy).
-
Cucumber + vinegartop 8% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together4,734 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-methylbutyl acetate (fruit).
-
Flour + buttertop 12% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together124,287 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
-
Flour + parsleytop 12% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together16,675 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
-
Cucumber + flourtop 13% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together2,067 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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
- Cucumbers
- Form the main body of the dish, becoming tender and mild when gently cooked.
- Flour
- Coats the cucumbers and thickens the butter and stock into a sauce.
- Butter
- Carries flavour and gives the sauce richness while the cucumbers cook gently.
- Veal stock
- Forms the liquid base of the sauce, adding savoury depth.
- Egg yolks
- Enrich and thicken the sauce as they set with gentle heat.
The step that matters
Thicken the sauce with egg yolks. Egg yolks thicken through gentle heat; if the sauce boils after they are added, they can scramble and curdle. Keep the heat low and stir steadily.
Swap the white pepper
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (cucumber, vinegar, flour, butter, veal, parsley, egg):
- Tarragonfits better
- Capersfits better
- Dillfits better
- White pepperthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against cucumber, vinegar, flour, butter, veal, parsley, egg. 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.
You might also like
Veal Patties50 recipes
Beef, Mutton, or Veal Broth6 recipes
Tomato Soup526 recipes
Brown Bread461 recipesThe free Flavor Lab newsletter: one surprising pairing a week and the molecular reason it works, in 60 seconds. No spam, unsubscribe anytime.
Prefer an account? Create a free account to save pairings and unlock the full chemistry.