Why it works: Egg and pepper are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 33% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 50,580 recipes. Both carry 2-nonenal, which smells fatty, green. The science ↓
Creamed Halibut
Ingredients
Directions
Make the creamed halibut
Shred the halibut with a fork.
Put the milk into the pan with hot water below, and let it come to a boil.
Add butter, catsup, salt and pepper, then the cracker crumbs and lastly the halibut.
Let it cook five minutes.
Add the eggs chopped fine.
Serve
Serve on a hot platter with bits of buttered toast.
Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)
What these numbers assume: 4 portions
| Ingredient | Portion assumed | kcal |
|---|---|---|
| Halibut | 100g cooked | 140 |
| Egg | 1 large egg (50g) | 78 |
| Black Pepper | 1 tsp ground (2.3g) | 6 |
| Salt | 1 tsp (6g) | 0 |
One typical portion per ingredient; the recipe's quantities are not counted. A rough guide only, not for medical or dietary planning.
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. See the original page.
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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Egg + peppertop 33% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together50,580 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
Egg and pepper barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 50,580 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
- Halibut
- Forms the main body of the dish, giving it flaky, substantial texture.
- Milk (in the method)
- Provides the liquid base that makes the mixture creamy and moist.
- Cracker crumbs (in the method)
- Absorb liquid and swell as they heat, helping thicken the creamed mixture.
- Butter (in the method)
- Adds fat for richness, smooth mouthfeel and a rounder flavor.
- Hard-boiled eggs
- Add chopped texture and richness to the creamed mixture.
The step that matters
Cook for five minutes after adding the halibut. Starch from the cracker crumbs thickens as the mixture heats, so the cooking time sets the texture. Too little leaves the sauce thin; too much can make it stiff and dry.
“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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