Why it works: Nutmeg and mace are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 4% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 6,557 recipes. Both carry myristicin, which smells spice, warm. The science ↓
Pickled Salmon
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare the salmon
Clean the salmon and cut it into large pieces.
Boil the salmon in salted water as if for eating, then drain it.
Wrap the salmon in a dry cloth and set it in a cold place until the next day.
Make the pickle and store
In a kettle, combine the quart of boiling water, vinegar, black pepper, grated nutmeg, and mace.
Boil the mixture covered to prevent flavor loss, then let it cool.
Pour the cooled vinegar mixture over the salmon and add the sweet oil on top.
Cover the salmon closely and store it in a dry, cool place.
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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Nutmeg + macetop 4% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together6,557 recipes
Shared aroma: myristicin (spice, warm).
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Pepper + nutmegtop 7% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together13,015 recipes
Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).
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Vinegar + peppertop 14% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together27,814 recipes
Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).
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Pepper + macetop 16% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together12,257 recipes
Shared aroma: myristicin (spice, warm).
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Vinegar + macetop 25% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together4,415 recipes
Pepper and mace barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 12,257 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
- Salmon
- Is the main food that is cooked, then preserved in the vinegar brine.
- Vinegar
- Provides the acidity that preserves the fish and gives it a sharp, tangy flavor.
- Black pepper
- Adds a sharp, aromatic heat that flavors the pickling liquid.
- Mace
- Contributes a warm, delicate spice aroma to the pickling liquid.
- Nutmeg
- Adds a warm, sweet spice aroma to the pickling liquid.
- Sweet oil
- Adds fat and a smooth, rich mouthfeel to the pickled fish.
The step that matters
Letting the salmon rest in a cold place until the next day. The fish must be fully chilled and dry before the pickle is added. Surface moisture left on the fish dilutes the vinegar mixture and can reduce how well it keeps, so the cloth should be dry and the fish cold before pouring on the liquid.
Swap the mace
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (salmon, vinegar, pepper, nutmeg):
- Allspicefits better
- Dillfits better
- Tarragonfits better
- Macethe original
Fit is the average pairing score against salmon, vinegar, pepper, nutmeg. 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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