Why it works: Sauce and ketchup match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 1,099 recipes. Both carry ethanol, which smells alcoholic, ethereal. The science ↓
Salmon Loaf
Ingredients
Directions
The book gives no oven temperature. The 350°F (175°C) in the steps was added when the recipe was transcribed, as a starting point.
Prepare
Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C).
Make the loaf
Pour off all liquids from the salmon, remove bones, and mince finely.
In a bowl, combine the minced salmon, crumbs, white sauce, salt, pepper, lemon juice, ketchup, and egg.
Mix well and shape into a loaf in a small tin.
Bake and serve
Bake for one hour.
Serve hot or cold with white sauce or tomato 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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Sauce + ketchuptop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together1,099 recipes
Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
-
Pepper + lemontop 3% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together27,047 recipes
Shared aroma: trans-2-nonenal (cardboard, fatty).
-
Egg + breadtop 13% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together22,662 recipes
Shared aroma: (e)-2-octenal (fatty, green).
-
Meat + breadtop 14% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together2,924 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).
-
Pepper + breadtop 16% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together20,964 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Egg
- Binds the salmon mixture so the loaf holds its shape when sliced.
- White sauce
- Adds moisture and richness so the loaf stays tender rather than dry.
- Bread or cracker crumbs
- Absorb liquid and give the loaf body and structure.
- Salmon (in the method)
- Provides the main protein and flavour of the loaf.
- Ketchup
- Adds mild sweetness and acidity that season the mixture and aid browning.
The step that matters
Pour off all liquids from the salmon. Excess liquid makes the mixture wet and loose, so the loaf may not hold its shape and can bake up soggy. Draining first keeps the texture firm.
“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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