Why it works: Pepper and lemon match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 3% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 27,047 recipes. Both carry trans-2-nonenal, which smells cardboard, fatty. The science ↓
Fish Pudding
Ingredients
Directions
The book says “a moderate oven”. The 350°F (175°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.
Prepare the fish
Mash the fish thoroughly.
Pass the mashed fish through a fine sieve.
Add the seasonings.
Make the sauce
Melt butter in a saucepan.
Add flour to the melted butter.
Add cream to the mixture.
Add beaten eggs to the mixture.
Stir until well heated but not thick.
Add the fish mixture to the sauce.
Beat the mixture well.
Bake
Press the mixture into a ring mold.
Ensure the mixture adheres to the sides of the mold.
Place the mold in a pan of water.
Bake in a 350°F (175°C) oven for 30 minutes.
Remove the mold from the water onto a dish.
Serve
Fill the center with Parisienne potatoes, creating a border around the outside.
Serve with a rich cream sauce garnished with chopped parsley.
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.
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Pepper + lemontop 3% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together27,047 recipes
Shared aroma: trans-2-nonenal (cardboard, fatty).
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Cream + buttertop 8% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together41,516 recipes
Shared aroma: delta-dodecalactone (sweet, creamy).
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Pepper + oniontop 11% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together68,474 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
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Fish + buttertop 12% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together4,488 recipes
Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).
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Flour + buttertop 12% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together124,287 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
Flour and butter barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 124,287 recipes: they work on texture and structure more than aroma.
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Fish
- Forms the main body of the pudding and gives it its flavor.
- Eggs
- Set when baked, binding the mixture into a firm, sliceable shape.
- Flour
- Thickens the butter and cream base so the mixture holds together.
- Cream
- Adds moisture and richness, keeping the baked pudding tender.
- Butter
- Adds fat and flavor, and forms the base for the thickened sauce.
The step that matters
Place the mold in a pan of water. The water bath moderates the oven heat so the egg-based mixture sets gently and evenly, avoiding curdling, a rubbery texture, or cracks at the edges.
Swap the onion
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (fish, cream, flour, pepper, lemon, egg, butter):
- Spinachfits better
- Asparagusfits better
- Leekfits better
- Onionthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against fish, cream, flour, pepper, lemon, egg, butter. 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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