Why it works: Lemon and parsley 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 ↓
Turbot, Boiled
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare the fish
Wipe the fish and trim the fins without cutting them off.
Make an incision down the middle of the back to prevent the skin from cracking.
Rub the white side of the fish with a cut lemon to retain its whiteness.
Poach
In a turbot kettle, add enough warm water to cover the fish and season with salt.
Bring the water to near boiling point, then gently simmer the fish for 15 to 20 minutes.
Serve
Drain the fish and place it neatly on a serving dish.
Garnish with lobster coral, parsley, and cut lemon, and serve with your choice of sauce.
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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Lemon + parsleytop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together14,037 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).
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Turbot + saucetop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together248 recipes
Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
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Pepper + parsleytop 2% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together34,122 recipes
Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).
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Pepper + lemontop 3% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together27,047 recipes
Shared aroma: trans-2-nonenal (cardboard, fatty).
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Turbot + lobstertop 5% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together163 recipes
Shared aroma: octanal (fat, soap).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Turbot
- Firm white flesh that holds its shape during gentle simmering and flakes when cooked.
- Lemon
- Its juice rubbed on the fish helps keep the white flesh looking bright and white.
The step that matters
Simmer gently, do not boil. Keeping the water just below boiling and simmering gently cooks the fish evenly. A hard boil toughens the proteins and can crack the skin, which is why the recipe calls for an incision along the back.
“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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