Why it works: Butter and milk are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 7% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 81,283 recipes. Both carry (z)-4-heptenal, which smells biscuit, cream. The science ↓
Timbale of Salmon
Ingredients
Directions
Make the mixture
Remove the bone and skin from one can of salmon.
Add the salmon gradually, beating all the time, four tablespoonfuls of thick cream and the unbeaten whites of two eggs.
Salt and pepper to taste.
Fill small cups or egg cups with the mixture.
Bake
Stand the cups in a dish of hot water and bake for twenty minutes.
When done, turn the cups out onto plates.
Finish with butter sauce
Pour the butter sauce over the timbales.
Butter sauce: combine two tablespoons of flour, one-half cup butter, and one pint boiling water.
Stir butter and flour, gradually add boiling water, stirring constantly until it thickens.
Flavor the sauce with lime juice.
Serve
Serve at once.
Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)
Counts 7 of 8 ingredients. The other 1 aren't in our nutrition table and add nothing above, so the real totals are higher.
What these numbers assume: 7 portions
| Ingredient | Portion assumed | kcal |
|---|---|---|
| Flour | 1 cup (125g) all-purpose | 455 |
| Milk | 1 cup (244ml) whole | 149 |
| Butter | 1 tbsp (14g) | 102 |
| Egg | 1 large egg (50g) | 78 |
| Cream | 1 tbsp (15ml) heavy | 51 |
| Black Pepper | 1 tsp ground (2.3g) | 6 |
| Salt | 1 tsp (6g) | 0 |
| Water | not in our table | 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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Butter + milktop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together81,283 recipes
Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).
-
Cream + buttertop 8% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together41,516 recipes
Shared aroma: delta-dodecalactone (sweet, creamy).
-
Flour + buttertop 12% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together124,287 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
-
Flour + milktop 14% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together78,219 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Flour + eggtop 15% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together106,462 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
Flour and butter barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 124,287 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
- Salmon (in the method)
- Forms the bulk of the timbale and gives it its main flavour.
- Eggs
- Whites set when baked, giving the timbale its structure.
- Cream
- Adds moisture and richness so the mixture stays tender.
- Flour
- Thickens the sauce as its starch swells in the hot liquid.
- Butter
- Adds fat and richness to the sauce.
The step that matters
Stir the sauce constantly while adding boiling water. Flour starch thickens only when it is evenly dispersed and heated. Adding the water gradually while stirring prevents lumps and gives a smooth, thickened sauce.
“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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