Why it works: Fish and butter are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 12% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 4,488 recipes. Both carry (z)-4-heptenal, which smells biscuit, cream. The science ↓
Broiled Fish
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare
Grease the bars of the broiler well with butter or oil.
Place the fish inside down towards the fire.
Remove the backbone by running a knife underneath it.
Loosen and take out the long bones one at a time with a small knife after cutting away the backbone.
Season the fish with salt before or after cutting.
Broil
Broil until browned and the flakes separate, being careful not to burn.
Turn the skin side towards the fire to brown it.
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.
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Fish + buttertop 12% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together4,488 recipes
Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Fish
- Provides the flesh that flakes and browns under direct heat.
- Coarse sea salt
- Seasons the flesh and draws out surface moisture for light browning.
- Butter or oil
- Coats the broiler bars to keep the fish from sticking and adds surface richness.
The step that matters
Broiling until browned and flaking, without burning. Direct high heat browns the surface quickly, and sugars and proteins can scorch before the thick flesh cooks through. Watching the color and flake texture, rather than the clock, keeps the fish moist and evenly done.
“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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