Why it works: Milk and pepper are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 22% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 26,984 recipes. Both carry ethyl 2-methylbutyrate, which smells fruity, apple. The science ↓
Fish on Toast
Ingredients
Directions
Start the sauce
Take the remnants of any fresh fish, whether fried or boiled; pick into flakes and cover in a sauce pan with milk or cream.
If milk is used, to 1 cup of milk use 1 teaspoon flour stirred with butter enough to cream it; salt and pepper to taste.
If cream is used, omit the butter, but thicken with the flour stirred with a little cream.
Finish and serve
When it comes to a boil, remove instantly and pour over toast.
Garnish with hard boiled eggs.
Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)
What these numbers assume: 3 portions
| Ingredient | Portion assumed | kcal |
|---|---|---|
| Milk | 1 cup (244ml) whole | 149 |
| Black Pepper | 1 tsp ground (2.3g) | 6 |
| Salt | 1 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.
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.
-
Milk + peppertop 22% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together26,984 recipes
Shared aroma: ethyl 2-methylbutyrate (fruity, apple).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Milk
- Forms the liquid base of the sauce and keeps the fish moist.
- Flour (in the method)
- Thickens the milk into a smooth sauce as its starch swells with heat.
- Butter (in the method)
- Adds richness and a smooth texture when creamed with the flour.
- Fish (in the method)
- Provides the main body of the dish, flaked into the sauce.
The step that matters
Removing the sauce from the heat. Milk scorches on the base of the pan and can curdle or form a skin if it keeps boiling. Taking the pan off the heat as soon as it boils keeps the sauce smooth.
“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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