Why it works: Fish and egg are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 22% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 2,782 recipes. Both carry 2-nonenal, which smells fatty, green. The science ↓
Fried Fish
Ingredients
Directions
Clean the fish and cut it into pieces about 2 by 4 inches.
Place the fish skin side down in a colander and sprinkle with coarse sea salt.
Let it stand for 1 hour or up to half a day.
Heat fat in a frying pan.
Roll the fish pieces in cornmeal and fry slowly until thoroughly cooked.
If desired, dip the fried fish in beaten egg and roll in crushed crackers before serving.
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.
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.
-
Fish + eggtop 22% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together2,782 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
More fried fish recipes
You might also like
The free Flavor Lab newsletter: one surprising pairing a week and the molecular reason it works, in 60 seconds. No spam, unsubscribe anytime.
Prefer an account? Create a free account to save pairings and unlock the full chemistry.

Fish Croquettes81 recipes
Scalloped Cod69 recipes
Broiled Fish68 recipes
Fish Cutlets30 recipes