Why it works: Parsley and pepper match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 2% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 34,122 recipes. Both carry 4'-methylacetophenone, which smells bitter almond. The science ↓
Salmon Kedgeree
Ingredients
Directions
Divide the salmon into large flakes.
Heat the butter or fat in a saucepan.
Add the rice and heat thoroughly, seasoning to taste.
Gently stir in the salmon and cook for a few minutes.
Serve hot, optionally topped with chopped hard-boiled eggs.
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 + peppertop 2% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together34,122 recipes
Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).
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Parsley + nutmegtop 3% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together5,062 recipes
Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).
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Pepper + nutmegtop 7% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together13,015 recipes
Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).
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Rice + nutmegtop 9% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together1,779 recipes
Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).
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Rice + parsleytop 10% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together2,762 recipes
Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Salmon
- Provides the main protein and flaky texture of the dish.
- Rice
- Forms the bulk of the dish and absorbs the butter and seasoning.
- Butter or good fat
- Carries flavour and adds richness, coating the rice and keeping it moist.
- Hard-boiled eggs
- Adds soft, creamy texture and extra body as an optional topping.
The step that matters
Heat the rice thoroughly in the fat. The rice must be hot all the way through before the salmon goes in, so it is evenly warmed and coated. Cooking the salmon gently keeps its flakes intact and stops it drying out.
Swap the nutmeg
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (salmon, rice, butter, parsley, pepper, egg):
- Dillfits about as well
- Capersfits about as well
- Tarragonfits about as well
- Nutmegthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against salmon, rice, butter, parsley, pepper, 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.
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