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Eel Broth

A broth made from eel, herbs, onion, peppercorns, and water, simmered until reduced and strained.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 8 ingredients
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Eel Broth

Why it works: Parsley and pepper match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 2% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 34,122 recipes. Both carry 4'-methylacetophenone, which smells bitter almond. The science ↓

Eel Broth

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare the eel

  1. Clean and skin the eel, then cut it into small pieces.

Simmer the broth

  1. Place the eel in a stewpan with the other ingredients.

  2. Simmer gently until the liquid is reduced by half, removing any scum that rises.

  3. Strain the broth through a fine sieve and cool it.

Serve

  1. When ready to serve, remove the fat from the top, warm the broth, and serve with toasted bread.

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.

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.

  1. Parsley + peppertop 2% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together34,122 recipes

    Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).

  2. Clove + peppertop 5% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together17,451 recipes

    Shared aroma: ethyl octanoate (fruity, wine).

  3. Parsley + clovetop 6% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together6,768 recipes

    Shared aroma: cuminaldehyde (Spicy, cumin).

  4. Parsley + oniontop 9% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together25,843 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).

  5. Onion + peppertop 11% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together68,474 recipes

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

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

What each ingredient does

Eel
Provides the main flavour and body of the broth as it simmers.
Onion
Adds savoury sweetness and aroma to the broth.
Sweet herbs
Contribute aroma that perfumes the broth during simmering.

The step that matters

Skimming the scum while simmering. Scum that rises during simmering contains coagulated proteins and impurities. Removing it keeps the broth clear and prevents a muddy, off-tasting liquid. Simmering gently rather than boiling also helps keep it clear.

Swap the onion

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

  1. Carrotfits better
  2. Shallotfits better
  3. Capsicumfits better
  4. Onionthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against parsley, clove, pepper. 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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