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Salmon Loaf

A loaf made from shredded salmon, bread crumbs, milk, egg, onion, salt, and pepper, baked until set.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
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Why it works: Milk and bread are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 11% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 11,466 recipes. Both carry 2-undecenal, which smells sweet. The science ↓

Salmon Loaf

Oven, in the book's wordsA moderate oven

Ingredients

Directions

The book says “a moderate oven”. The 350°F (175°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.

Make the mixture

  1. Shred the salmon and add the bread crumbs and seasoning to taste.

  2. Beat the egg slightly and combine it with the salmon mixture.

Bake

  1. Pack the mixture into a buttered bread pan.

  2. Bake in a moderate oven at 350°F (175°C) for 20 to 30 minutes.

  3. Allow ten slices from the loaf.

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. Milk + breadtop 11% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together11,466 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-undecenal (sweet).

  2. Pepper + oniontop 11% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together68,474 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).

  3. Bread + eggtop 13% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together22,662 recipes

    Shared aroma: (e)-2-octenal (fatty, green).

  4. Bread + oniontop 15% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together8,676 recipes

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

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

    Shared aroma: decanal (soap, orange peel).

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

What each ingredient does

Salmon
Forms the main body of the loaf and gives it its flavor and flaky texture.
Bread
Crumbs soak up liquid and help hold the loaf together.
Egg
Binds the mixture and sets as it bakes, firming the loaf.
Whole milk
Adds moisture so the loaf stays tender rather than dry.

The step that matters

Bake in a moderate oven at 350°F (175°C) for 20 to 30 minutes.. The egg proteins set as the loaf heats, holding it together. Baking too long drives off moisture and leaves the loaf dry and crumbly, so check it near the shorter end of the time.

Swap the onion

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

  1. Asparagusfits better
  2. Capsicumfits better
  3. Potatofits better
  4. Onionthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against salmon, milk, bread, pepper, egg. 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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