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Flamed Mackerel with Rhubarb Chutney, Roasted Beetroot and Pickled Shallots

Rhubarb and mackerel may seem unusual but it is actually a classic combination. Pair with beetroot and pickled shallots for a special supper.

By bbcfood · From Open Recipes · 17 ingredients
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Why it works: Shallot and sorrel share more aroma than cooks usually use. They rank in the top 2% of all ingredient pairs, and 38 recipes mention both. Both carry coumarin, which smells sweet, hay. The science ↓

The recipe

Serves 2
Cook1 hr

Ingredients

Contains: milk, fish (auto-detected from the ingredients and method; we can miss things, so check labels)

Directions

Step-by-step directions aren't available for this recipe. See the full recipe at the source →

By bbcfood. Recipe from Open Recipes.

Explore the science

The flavor team

The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much aroma chemistry they share, and how many recipes mention both.

  1. Shallot + sorreltop 2% of all pairs
    Aroma overlapstrong
    Mentioned together38 recipes

    Shared aroma: coumarin (sweet, hay).

  2. Sorrel + beetroottop 2% of all pairs
    Aroma overlapstrong
    Mentioned together64 recipes

    Shared aroma: coumarin (sweet, hay).

  3. Ginger + orangetop 3% of all pairs
    Aroma overlapstrong
    Mentioned together1,833 recipes

    Shared aroma: trans-2-decenal (waxy, orange).

  4. Rhubarb + beetroottop 3% of all pairs
    Aroma overlapstrong
    Mentioned together18 recipes

    Shared aroma: coumarin (sweet, hay).

  5. Rhubarb + orangetop 3% of all pairs
    Aroma overlapmoderate
    Mentioned together299 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-methoxy-4-vinylphenol (clove, smoky).

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

Flavor stand-ins for the orange

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (sugar, ginger, shallot, rhubarb, cider, vinegar, pepper):

  1. Lemonabout as good a flavor fit
  2. Appleabout as good a flavor fit
  3. Orangethe original
  4. Cherryabout as good a flavor fit

Fit is the average pairing score against sugar, ginger, shallot, rhubarb, cider, vinegar, pepper. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes. This compares flavor only: it does not check the job the ingredient does in the dish (bulk, moisture, acidity, structure).