Why it works: Vinegar and onion are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 14% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 18,226 recipes. Both carry acetic acid, which smells sour, vinegar. The science ↓
Fish Ring
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare the poaching liquid
Combine 2 lbs halibut or red salmon with 1 teaspoon salt, 3 cups water, 4 cups vinegar, paprika, whole pepper, 1 onion, and bay leaves.
Put the water with the above ingredients into a pot and boil fifteen minutes.
Add the fish and cook until tender, then remove the fish.
Dissolve gelatin in some of the liquor and boil down the rest.
Strain and add the dissolved gelatin.
Set in the mold
Put some of the liquor in a ring mold; then add the fish in small pieces; then pour the remaining liquor.
Let the mixture stand overnight.
Garnish and serve
Garnish with olives and hard-boiled eggs.
Serve with shredded celery and mayonnaise or cucumber salad in the center of the ring.
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Onion | 1 medium (110g) | 44 |
| Lemon | juice of 1 lemon (48ml) | 12 |
| Vinegar | 1 tbsp (15ml) distilled | 3 |
| 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.
-
Vinegar + oniontop 14% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together18,226 recipes
Shared aroma: acetic acid (sour, vinegar).
-
Onion + lemontop 19% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together15,646 recipes
Shared aroma: decanal (soap, orange peel).
-
Vinegar + lemontop 20% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together7,334 recipes
Shared aroma: acetic acid (sour, vinegar).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Halibut or red salmon (in the method)
- Forms the main body of the dish, set in the jelly as firm pieces.
- Gelatin (in the method)
- Sets the strained liquid into a firm jelly that holds the fish in place.
- Vinegar
- Adds sharp acidity that brightens the flavor of the poached fish and liquid.
- Onion
- Adds savory aroma to the poaching liquid.
The step that matters
Dissolve the gelatin fully before straining and adding it. Gelatin must dissolve completely in hot liquid to set evenly. Undissolved granules leave grainy spots, and the liquid needs time to cool and firm around the fish during standing.
Swap the lemon
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (vinegar, onion):
- Avocadofits better
- Plumfits better
- Cherryfits better
- Lemonthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against vinegar, onion. 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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