Why it works: Lemon and pepper match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 3% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 27,047 recipes. Both carry trans-2-nonenal, which smells cardboard, fatty. The science ↓
Salmon Loaf
Ingredients
Directions
Make the loaf
Combine 1 lb. canned salmon, 4 beaten eggs, 4 tablespoons melted butter, 1 cup bread or cracker crumbs, salt and pepper to taste, and mix thoroughly.
Shape the mixture into a loaf and steam for 1 hour.
Make the sauce and serve
Transfer the loaf to a platter.
For the sauce, combine 1 cup butter, yolks of 2 eggs, juice of 1 lemon, 1 level tablespoon flour, and 1 cup boiling water, then cook until thickened.
Pour the sauce over the loaf.
Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)
Counts 4 of 5 ingredients. The other 1 aren't in our nutrition table and add nothing above, so the real totals are higher.
What these numbers assume: 4 portions
| Ingredient | Portion assumed | kcal |
|---|---|---|
| Egg | 1 large egg (50g) | 78 |
| Lemon | juice of 1 lemon (48ml) | 12 |
| 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.
-
Lemon + peppertop 3% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together27,047 recipes
Shared aroma: trans-2-nonenal (cardboard, fatty).
-
Egg + lemontop 19% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together44,316 recipes
Shared aroma: (e,e)-2,4-decadienal (fatty, deep fried).
-
Egg + peppertop 33% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together50,580 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
Egg and lemon barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 44,316 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
- Canned salmon (in the method)
- Forms the main body and flavor of the loaf.
- Eggs
- Bind the loaf and set as it cooks, holding its shape.
- Bread or cracker crumbs (in the method)
- Absorb moisture and give the loaf a tender, sliceable texture.
- Butter (in the method)
- Adds richness and moisture to both the loaf and the sauce.
- Flour (in the method)
- Thickens the sauce so it coats the loaf.
- Lemon juice
- Adds acidity that brightens the rich sauce.
The step that matters
Thickening the sauce. Flour needs to cook fully with the liquid to lose its raw taste and thicken evenly. The egg yolks thicken gently with heat but can curdle or scramble if the sauce boils hard, so keep the heat moderate and stir constantly.
“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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