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Salmon Loaf with Tomato Sauce

A steamed loaf of salmon mixed with butter, crackers, eggs, and seasonings, served with tomato sauce.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
By Chicago. Bethany union church. Woman's society. [from old catalog] · From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 7 ingredients
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Why it works: Tomato and pepper are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 7% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 17,923 recipes. Both carry 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine, which smells earthy, pea. The science ↓

Salmon Loaf with Tomato Sauce

Ingredients

Directions

Make the loaf

  1. Can salmon, pour off liquor, pick out bones and skin, and mix smoothly.

  2. Add four teaspoons melted butter.

  3. Add one-half cup fine rolled crackers, and season with pepper, salt, and a little grated onion.

  4. Beat three eggs thoroughly and add to mixture.

  5. Steam in a round can for one hour and a quarter.

  6. Tie a cloth on the underside of the steamer cover to absorb water beads.

  7. Lay the roll on a platter when ready.

Make the tomato sauce

  1. Boil one pint canned tomatoes with one cup water and several slices onion.

  2. Cook for ten or fifteen minutes.

  3. Rub through a sieve.

  4. Blend a large tablespoon butter with flour in a frying pan, add tomato juice, and make a cream-like sauce; serve hot.

Serve

  1. Garnish with parsley and serve in slices with tomato sauce.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

561Calories
21 gProtein
7 gFat
102 gCarbs

Counts 5 of 6 ingredients. The other 1 aren't in our nutrition table and add nothing above, so the real totals are higher.

What these numbers assume: 5 portions
IngredientPortion assumedkcal
Flour1 cup (125g) all-purpose455
Egg1 large egg (50g)78
Tomato1 medium (123g)22
Black Pepper1 tsp ground (2.3g)6
Salt1 tsp (6g)0
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. Tomato + peppertop 7% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together17,923 recipes

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

  2. Egg + peppertop 33% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together50,580 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).

  3. Tomato + eggtop 34% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together5,890 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

Salmon (in the method)
Forms the main body of the loaf and supplies its flavor and protein structure.
Eggs
Bind the mixture and set on steaming, holding the loaf together in slices.
Fine rolled crackers
Absorb moisture and add body, keeping the loaf tender rather than wet.
Butter (in the method)
Adds richness and moisture to the loaf and fat to the sauce.
Canned tomatoes
Provide acidity and the base of the sauce.

The step that matters

Steam with a cloth under the cover. Water droplets forming on the steamer lid would fall onto the loaf and make its surface soggy and uneven. The cloth absorbs condensation so the loaf stays firm while it steams for the full time.

Swap the tomato

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

  1. Capsicumfits better
  2. Spinachfits better
  3. Asparagusfits better
  4. Tomatothe original

Fit is the average pairing score against 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.

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