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Cucumber, Fillets of

Cucumber fillets simmered in butter with sugar, pepper, and salt.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 5 ingredients
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Why it works: Cucumber and pepper are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 12% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 5,991 recipes. Both carry 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine, which smells earthy, pea. The science ↓

Cucumber, Fillets of

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare the cucumbers

  1. Cut cucumbers in half lengthwise and scoop out the seeds and soft parts.

  2. Slice into 1-inch lengths and trim into an oval shape.

Cook

  1. In a saucepan, melt butter over medium heat.

  2. Add cucumbers, pepper, sugar, and salt.

  3. Simmer until soft, shaking the pan frequently.

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. Cucumber + peppertop 12% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together5,991 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).

  2. Butter + sugartop 17% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together98,233 recipes

    Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).

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

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

  4. Cucumber + buttertop 24% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together2,185 recipes

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

  5. Cucumber + sugartop 26% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together3,112 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).

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

What each ingredient does

Cucumbers
Make up the main body of the dish and soften into a tender, moist texture when simmered.
Butter
Adds fat for rich flavor and a smooth coating that helps the cucumbers cook evenly.
Sugar
Adds a touch of sweetness that balances the cucumbers' mild, slightly bitter edge.

The step that matters

Simmer until soft, shaking the pan frequently. Cucumbers are mostly water, and prolonged heat breaks down their cell walls, so they turn mushy if overcooked. Shaking the pan keeps the pieces coated in butter and prevents them from sticking and scorching on the base.

Swap the cucumber

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (butter, pepper, sugar):

  1. Capsicumfits better
  2. Potatofits better
  3. Sweet potatofits better
  4. Cucumberthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against butter, pepper, sugar. 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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