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Salmon Loaf

A baked loaf made from canned salmon, egg, butter, salt, pepper, and cracker crumbs.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 6 ingredients
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Why it works: Salmon and butter are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 16% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 4,481 recipes. Both carry 2,6-nonadienal, which smells cucumber, green. The science ↓

Salmon Loaf

Ingredients

Directions

The book gives no oven temperature. The 350°F (175°C) in the steps was added when the recipe was transcribed, as a starting point.

Prepare

  1. Pour off the liquid from the can of salmon and remove the bones and skin.

  2. Beat the salmon with your hands until fine and flaky.

Mix and shape

  1. Add the beaten egg, butter, salt, and pepper, and mix well.

  2. Stir in the cracker crumbs until combined.

  3. Mold the mixture into a loaf shape.

Bake and serve

  1. Bake at 350°F (175°C) until heated through.

  2. Serve hot with slices of lemon.

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.

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. Salmon + buttertop 16% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together4,481 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2,6-nonadienal (cucumber, green).

  2. Salmon + eggtop 16% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together3,485 recipes

    Shared aroma: decanal (soap, orange peel).

  3. Egg + buttertop 17% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together118,967 recipes

    Shared aroma: decanal (soap, orange peel).

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

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

  5. Salmon + peppertop 27% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together5,446 recipes

    Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).

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

What each ingredient does

Salmon
Forms the main body of the loaf and supplies its flavor and flaky texture.
Egg
Binds the mixture so the loaf holds its shape when sliced.
Cracker crumbs
Absorb moisture and help the loaf hold together in a soft, tender texture.
Butter
Adds fat for richness and a moister, more tender crumb.

The step that matters

Beat the salmon until fine and flaky. Breaking the fish into small, even pieces gives the loaf a uniform texture and helps the binders distribute evenly, so the loaf holds together rather than crumbling apart when sliced.

“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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