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Fish Soup

A creamy fish soup made with fish, stock, milk, egg, breadcrumbs, and seasonings.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
By Chicago. Bethany union church. Woman's society. [from old catalog] · From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 13 ingredients
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Why it works: Parsley and pepper match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 2% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 34,122 recipes. Both carry 4'-methylacetophenone, which smells bitter almond. The science ↓

Fish Soup

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare the stock

  1. Skim the stock carefully.

  2. Heat the stock to boiling.

Make the soup

  1. Add the minced fish, pepper, and salt, and let simmer.

  2. Heat the milk in a double boiler.

  3. When hot, pour the milk over the beaten egg, mix well, and add with the crumbs to the hot stock.

  4. Serve.

Variations

  1. If no stock is available, use one cup hot water and two cups milk instead.

  2. If eggs are scarce, omit the egg and substitute a tablespoon of flour rolled in one tablespoon of butter.

  3. Optionally, add a cupful of diced potatoes and a tablespoon of minced parsley, onion, bay leaf, or sweet herbs.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

1001Calories
48 gProtein
39 gFat
110 gCarbs

Counts 9 of 11 ingredients. The other 2 aren't in our nutrition table and add nothing above, so the real totals are higher.

What these numbers assume: 9 portions
IngredientPortion assumedkcal
Flour1 cup (125g) all-purpose455
Salmon100g cooked208
Milk1 cup (244ml) whole149
Butter1 tbsp (14g)102
Egg1 large egg (50g)78
Black Pepper1 tsp ground (2.3g)6
Bay Leaf1 leaf (0.6g)2
Parsley1 tbsp chopped fresh (3.8g)1
Salt1 tsp (6g)0
Soupnot in our table0
Waternot in our table0

One typical portion per ingredient; the recipe's quantities are not counted. A rough guide only, not for medical or dietary planning.

By Chicago. Bethany union church. Woman's society. [from old catalog]. 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. 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.

  1. Parsley + peppertop 2% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together34,122 recipes

    Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).

  2. Milk + buttertop 7% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together81,283 recipes

    Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).

  3. Butter + fishtop 12% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together4,488 recipes

    Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).

  4. Flour + buttertop 12% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together124,287 recipes

    Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).

  5. Flour + parsleytop 12% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together16,675 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

Fish
Provides the main body and flavour of the soup.
Egg
Binds the soup and gives it a slightly thickened, smooth texture.
Fine crumbs
Absorb liquid and help thicken the soup.
Milk
Adds richness and a mild, creamy body to the soup.
Soup stock
Forms the savoury liquid base that carries the other ingredients.

The step that matters

Adding the egg and milk mixture to the hot stock. Pouring the milk over the beaten egg tempers it, so the egg warms gently instead of scrambling. Adding it to hot stock while stirring keeps the egg smooth and evenly blended.

Swap the parsley

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (milk, flour, butter, fish, egg, pepper):

  1. Nutmegfits about as well
  2. Parsleythe original
  3. Cinnamonfits about as well
  4. Capersfits about as well

Fit is the average pairing score against milk, flour, butter, fish, egg, pepper. 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.

More fish soup recipes

White 9Lake and Pond 6Water Soucy 6Brown 4Clear 3Russian 3 See all 129 →

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