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Salmon, Collared

A preserved salmon that is salted, spiced, and simmered in vinegar and water.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 10 ingredients
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Why it works: White pepper and mace are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 9% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 1,695 recipes. Both carry myrcene, which smells balsamic, herbaceous. The science ↓

Salmon, Collared

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare the fish

  1. Split the salmon.

  2. Remove the head and tail.

  3. Scale the fish.

  4. Bone the fish.

  5. Wash the fish.

  6. Dry the fish thoroughly.

  7. Rub the fish with a mixture of salt, white pepper, powdered mace, and cayenne.

  8. Roll the salmon tightly and bind it securely.

Poach and serve

  1. Place the salmon in a fish kettle.

  2. Cover the salmon with a mixture of vinegar and cold water (2 parts water to 1 part vinegar).

  3. Add bay leaves and additional salt and pepper.

  4. Cover the kettle.

  5. Simmer gently for about 1 hour until cooked through.

  6. Serve cold with anchovy sauce or melted butter.

  7. Keep the fish covered in the cooking liquid.

  8. Add a little extra vinegar.

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. White pepper + macetop 9% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together1,695 recipes

    Shared aroma: myrcene (balsamic, herbaceous).

  2. Salmon + anchovytop 11% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together535 recipes

    Shared aroma: decanal (soap, orange peel).

  3. Pepper + vinegartop 14% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together27,814 recipes

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

  4. Mace + peppertop 16% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together12,257 recipes

    Shared aroma: myristicin (spice, warm).

  5. Pepper + anchovytop 17% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together3,232 recipes

    Shared aroma: eucalyptol (eucalyptus, herbal).

Mace and pepper barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 12,257 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

Salmon
Forms the body of the dish, and its flesh cooks gently to a firm, flaky texture.
Vinegar
Adds acidity to the poaching liquid, giving the cold fish a sharp, tangy flavour.
Bay leaves
Contribute a subtle herbal aroma to the poaching liquid and the fish.
Powdered mace
Adds a warm, aromatic spice flavour to the fish flesh.
White pepper
Adds mild, earthy heat that seasons the fish without visible specks.

The step that matters

Simmer gently and keep the fish covered in the liquid. Gentle simmering keeps the proteins from tightening and toughening, and keeping the fish submerged ensures even cooking so it stays moist and does not break apart.

Swap the white pepper

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (salmon, mace, pepper, vinegar, anchovy):

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

Fit is the average pairing score against salmon, mace, pepper, vinegar, anchovy. 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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