Why it works: Sage and lemon match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 2% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 887 recipes. Both carry 3-hexenal, which smells apple, fruity. The science ↓
Baked Salmon
Ingredients
Directions
The book says “a quick oven”. The 400°F (200°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.
Prepare the salmon
Preheat the oven to 400°F (200°C).
Rub the salmon inside and out with salt and pepper.
Mix the buttered bread with hot milk or water. Add sage or thyme if desired.
Stuff the salmon with the bread mixture. Tie the salmon closed with thread.
Bake
Place muffin rings or a trivet in a dripping pan. Put the salmon on top of the rings or trivet.
Dot the salmon with butter. Dredge the salmon with flour.
Add 1 pint of hot water to the pan for basting.
Bake for 1 hour, basting frequently.
Make the lemon gravy and serve
After removing the fish, fry the lemon slices in the pan. Dredge the lemon slices in 1 teaspoon of flour. Add a small bit of butter to the lemon slices. Stir the lemon slices until browned.
Add ½ cup boiling water. Stir until smooth. Strain the gravy over the lemon slices.
Serve the salmon with boiled potatoes.
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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Sage + lemontop 2% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together887 recipes
Shared aroma: 3-hexenal (apple, fruity).
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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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Pepper + sagetop 3% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together5,388 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).
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Bread + buttertop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together27,232 recipes
Shared aroma: delta-decalactone (sweet, creamy).
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Milk + buttertop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together81,283 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
- Salmon
- Forms the main body of the dish and is cooked whole in the oven.
- Bread
- Soaked in milk or water to make a moist stuffing that keeps the fish tender.
- Butter
- Adds richness and helps the surface brown during baking.
- Flour
- Dusted on the fish and lemon slices to help thicken and brown the gravy.
- Lemon
- Fried until browned, adding a tangy, caramelized flavour to the gravy.
The step that matters
Basting the salmon during the bake. Basting with hot water and pan juices keeps the fish moist as it cooks, since the surface can dry out before the centre is done.
Swap the sage
The recipe marks sage as optional. How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (salmon, pepper, bread, milk, butter, flour, lemon):
- Parsleyfits better
- Nutmegfits about as well
- Marjoramfits about as well
- Sagethe original
Fit is the average pairing score against salmon, pepper, bread, milk, butter, flour, lemon. 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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