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Cod, with Mashed Potatoes

A baked cod and mashed potato mixture seasoned with salt, pepper, and optional butter, oil, or cream.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 5 ingredients
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Why it works: Potato and pepper are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 9% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 8,305 recipes. Both carry 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine, which smells earthy, pea. The science ↓

Cod, with Mashed Potatoes

Oven, in the book's wordsA moderate oven

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

  1. Remove the skin and bones from the cold cod.

  2. In a bowl, combine the cod and mashed potatoes.

  3. Add salt, white pepper, cayenne, and a little butter, oil, or cream.

  4. Pound the mixture together until smooth.

Bake and serve

  1. Transfer to a well-buttered dish and roughen the top with a fork.

  2. Bake in a 350°F (175°C) oven for 20 minutes.

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. Potato + peppertop 9% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together8,305 recipes

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

  2. Potato + buttertop 13% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together6,456 recipes

    Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).

  3. White pepper + peppertop 19% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together1,478 recipes

    Shared aroma: piperonal (bitter, coconut).

  4. Potato + white peppertop 20% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together157 recipes

    Shared aroma: myrcene (balsamic, herbaceous).

  5. Pepper + buttertop 21% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together85,593 recipes

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

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

What each ingredient does

Cod
Provides the main flaky protein body that gives the dish its substance and texture.
Mashed potatoes
Binds the fish and adds moisture and soft, creamy body to the mixture.
Butter, oil, or cream
Adds fat and richness, keeping the mixture moist and smooth.

The step that matters

Pound the mixture together until smooth. Breaking up the fish and blending it evenly with the potato makes a uniform, cohesive texture. Uneven mixing leaves dry flakes and pockets that won't hold together when baked.

Swap the white pepper

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

  1. Parsleyfits better
  2. Thymefits better
  3. Dillfits better
  4. White pepperthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against potato, pepper, 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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