Why it works: Butter and cream are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 8% of all ingredient pairs, and 41,516 recipes mention both. Both carry delta-dodecalactone, which smells sweet, creamy. The science ↓
Finnan Haddie a LA Delmonico
Ingredients
Directions
Make the sauce
Pick up and braise the finnan haddie in butter.
Add cream, diced hard boiled egg, raw egg yolk, and grated Edam cheese.
Thicken with cream sauce and season to taste.
Cook for 7 to 8 minutes.
Serve
Serve with small pieces of dry toast.
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 aroma chemistry they share, and how many recipes mention both.
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Butter + creamtop 8% of all pairsAroma overlapmoderateMentioned together41,516 recipes
Shared aroma: delta-dodecalactone (sweet, creamy).
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Butter + cheesetop 8% of all pairsAroma overlapmoderateMentioned together7,962 recipes
Shared aroma: delta-dodecalactone (sweet, creamy).
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Cream + cheesetop 15% of all pairsAroma overlapmoderateMentioned together2,655 recipes
Shared aroma: delta-dodecalactone (sweet, creamy).
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Butter + eggtop 17% of all pairsAroma overlapmoderateMentioned together118,967 recipes
Shared aroma: decanal (soap, orange peel).
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Cream + eggtop 24% of all pairsAroma overlaplowMentioned together42,166 recipes
Shared aroma: acetic acid (sour, vinegar).
Cream and egg share little aroma chemistry, yet 42,166 recipes mention both: they likely 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
- Finnan haddie
- Provides the main flaked smoked fish flavour and the substantial body of the dish.
- Butter
- Adds fat and richness while gently cooking the fish.
- Cream
- Forms the base of the sauce and adds richness and smoothness.
- Raw egg yolk
- Thickens the sauce as it heats and adds richness.
- Hard boiled egg
- Adds diced pieces that give texture contrast to the sauce.
- Edam cheese
- Adds savoury, salty depth and helps the sauce cling to the fish.
The step that matters
Cooking the sauce after adding the egg yolk. Egg yolk thickens by gentle heat, but high heat makes its proteins tighten and curdle, leaving a grainy sauce. Keep the heat low and stir steadily while it cooks.
“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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