Why it works: Vinegar and pepper are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 14% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 27,814 recipes. Both carry 4'-methylacetophenone, which smells bitter almond. The science ↓
To Pickle Salmon
Ingredients
Directions
Boil the vinegar, fish boiling liquid, and black pepper together.
Pour the mixture cold over the fish in a deep dish.
Do not scale the salmon before boiling it for pickling.
Drizzle a little sweet oil over the top of the pickle to preserve it.
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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Vinegar + peppertop 14% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together27,814 recipes
Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).
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Fish + peppertop 21% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together3,948 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
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Vinegar + fishtop 26% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together1,036 recipes
Shared aroma: acetoin (butter, cream).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Vinegar
- Adds acidity that helps preserve the fish and sharpens the flavour of the pickle.
- Fish boiling liquid
- Carries savoury fish flavour and moisture into the pickling liquid.
- Whole black pepper
- Adds a warm, aromatic spice flavour to the pickling liquid.
- Sweet oil
- Forms a thin fat layer over the surface that helps protect the pickle.
The step that matters
Pour the mixture cold over the fish. Pouring the liquid cold keeps the fish from cooking further, so it stays firm and moist instead of turning soft and flaky while it marinates.
“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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