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Minced Fish

A baked dish of minced fish, cream, mushrooms, and cheese.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
By Fredonia, N.Y. Trinity parish guild, comp. [from old catalog] · From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 4 ingredients
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Why it works: Butter and flour are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 12% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 124,287 recipes. Both carry isobutyraldehyde, which smells malty, green. The science ↓

Minced Fish

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare

  1. Flake 1 quart of cold fish.

  2. Add 1 pint of milk or cream.

  3. Cut 1 can of mushrooms in half.

Make the sauce

  1. Melt 2 tablespoonfuls of butter in a frying pan.

  2. Add 2 tablespoonfuls of flour and mix well.

  3. Stir the mixture until it boils.

  4. Add the mushrooms.

Assemble and bake

  1. Pour the sauce over the minced fish and mix carefully.

  2. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

  3. Transfer mixture to a pan and grate cheese over the top.

  4. Bake in the oven until browned.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

563Calories
13 gProtein
13 gFat
96 gCarbs
What these numbers assume: 4 portions
IngredientPortion assumedkcal
Flour1 cup (125g) all-purpose455
Butter1 tbsp (14g)102
Black Pepper1 tsp ground (2.3g)6
Salt1 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.

By Fredonia, N.Y. Trinity parish guild, comp. [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. Butter + flourtop 12% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together124,287 recipes

    Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).

  2. Flour + peppertop 19% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together50,459 recipes

    Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).

  3. Butter + peppertop 21% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together85,593 recipes

    Shared aroma: trans-2-nonenal (cardboard, fatty).

Butter and flour 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

Butter
Melts with the flour to form a roux that starts the sauce and adds richness.
Flour
Thickens the liquid into a smooth sauce that holds the fish together.
Milk or cream (in the method)
Forms the liquid base of the sauce, adding moisture and a creamy texture.
Mushrooms (in the method)
Add moisture and an earthy flavour to the sauce.
Cheese (in the method)
Melts and browns on top, forming a golden crust.

The step that matters

Stir the mixture until it boils. Stirring keeps the flour evenly dispersed in the hot butter and liquid so the sauce thickens smoothly without lumps, and boiling activates the starch so the sauce sets.

“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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