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Salmon Paste

A salmon paste made with salmon, egg, onion, parsley, salt, mayonnaise, and water, served on sandwiches.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 7 ingredients
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Why it works: Onion and parsley are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 9% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 25,843 recipes. Both carry 2,4-decadienal, which smells seaweed. The science ↓

Salmon Paste

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare the salmon

  1. Carefully shred the salmon, removing all bones.

  2. In a bowl, combine the salmon, salt, onion, beaten egg, parsley, and enough boiling water to moisten.

Cook and finish

  1. Cook the mixture in a double boiler until thoroughly heated.

  2. Cool the mixture, then add the mayonnaise.

  3. Serve on sandwiches.

Recipe from a historical cookbook (Internet Archive).

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.

  1. Onion + parsleytop 9% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together25,843 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).

  2. Salmon + eggtop 16% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together3,485 recipes

    Shared aroma: decanal (soap, orange peel).

  3. Salmon + oniontop 19% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together3,529 recipes

    Shared aroma: decanal (soap, orange peel).

  4. Egg + parsleytop 21% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together18,765 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).

  5. Salmon + parsleytop 24% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together2,516 recipes

    Shared aroma: eugenol (clove, spicy).

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

Salmon
Forms the bulk of the paste and provides its main flavor and texture.
Egg
Binds the mixture together and adds richness and body as it heats.
Mayonnaise
Adds fat and moisture, giving the paste a smooth, spreadable texture.

The step that matters

Cool before adding the mayonnaise. Mayonnaise is an emulsion that can separate or turn greasy when it is added to hot food. Letting the mixture cool first keeps the paste smooth and creamy.

Swap the onion

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (salmon, egg, parsley):

  1. Chivefits better
  2. Shallotfits better
  3. Asparagusfits better
  4. Onionthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against salmon, egg, parsley. 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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