Why it works: Liver and pepper are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 21% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 2,375 recipes. Both carry 2-nonenal, which smells fatty, green. The science ↓
Fried Liver
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare
Pour scalding water over the liver slices and dry them.
Season the slices with coarse sea salt and black pepper.
Dip the seasoned slices in beaten egg, then coat with very fine cracker crumbs.
Fry
Fry in boiling lard for six minutes until golden brown.
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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Liver + peppertop 21% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together2,375 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
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Liver + eggtop 28% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together1,177 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
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Pepper + eggtop 33% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together50,580 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
Pepper and egg barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 50,580 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
- Liver slices
- Main ingredient that is cooked through and browned in the coating.
- Egg
- Binds the cracker crumbs to the liver so the coating adheres during frying.
- Very fine cracker crumbs
- Form a crisp, golden coating that browns in the hot fat.
- Lard for frying
- Conducts heat to crisp the coating and brown the surface.
The step that matters
Fry in boiling lard for six minutes until golden brown. Frying in fat that is hot enough sets the egg and crumb coating quickly, so it browns and crisps rather than absorbing grease and turning soggy. Drying the slices first also helps the coating stick and crisp.
“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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