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Fried Fish

Pieces of a large fish, seasoned, floured and fried in hot lard or drippings until brown.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
By Warren, Pa. Presbyterian church. Second auxiliary missionary society. [from old catalog] · From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 5 ingredients
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Fried Fish

Why it works: Pepper and nutmeg match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 7% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 13,015 recipes. Both carry 4'-methylacetophenone, which smells bitter almond. The science ↓

Fried Fish

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare

  1. Cut out the backbone of a large fish.

  2. Cut the body into 4 or 5 pieces.

  3. Sprinkle the pieces with salt and pepper.

  4. Roll the pieces in flour.

Fry

  1. Fry in hot lard or drippings until brown.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

248Calories
18 gProtein
11 gFat
20 gCarbs
What these numbers assume: 5 portions
IngredientPortion assumedkcal
Milk1 cup (244ml) whole149
Oyster6 medium (84g)81
Nutmeg1 tsp ground (2.2g)12
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 Warren, Pa. Presbyterian church. Second auxiliary missionary 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.

Photo for illustrative purposes only · Contact us to use it

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. Pepper + nutmegtop 7% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together13,015 recipes

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

  2. Milk + nutmegtop 15% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together14,685 recipes

    Shared aroma: eucalyptol (eucalyptus, herbal).

  3. Milk + oystertop 20% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together2,933 recipes

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

  4. Milk + peppertop 22% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together26,984 recipes

    Shared aroma: ethyl 2-methylbutyrate (fruity, apple).

  5. Oyster + peppertop 22% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together7,663 recipes

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

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

Milk
Adds moisture and helps the coating adhere to the fish.
Flour (in the method)
Forms a coating that browns and crisps when fried.

The step that matters

Fry in hot lard or drippings until brown. Fat that is hot enough sears the coating quickly, creating a crisp crust before the fish overcooks. Fat that is too cool soaks in and makes the coating greasy.

Swap the nutmeg

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

  1. Celeryfits about as well
  2. Parsleyfits about as well
  3. Nutmegthe original
  4. Marjoramfits about as well

Fit is the average pairing score against milk, oyster, 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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