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Potted Fish

A fish preserved in vinegar, spices, and sago, sealed in a jar and boiled.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 7 ingredients
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Why it works: Allspice and clove match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 7,874 recipes. Both carry estragole, which smells anise, licorice. The science ↓

Potted Fish

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare the fish

  1. Remove the backbone from the fish.

  2. Place the allspice and cloves in a small muslin bag.

  3. Sprinkle coarse sea salt directly on the fish.

  4. Roll the fish in a cloth and sprinkle with cayenne pepper.

Layer and seal

  1. In an earthen jar, layer the fish, spice bag, and sago alternately.

  2. Cover the layers with cider vinegar.

  3. Seal the jar with a plate and cover it with a thick dough to make it air-tight.

Cook and serve

  1. Place the jar in a pot of cold water and boil for 3 to 5 hours, depending on the quantity.

  2. Let it cool before serving.

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. Allspice + clovetop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together7,874 recipes

    Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).

  2. Clove + peppertop 5% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together17,451 recipes

    Shared aroma: ethyl octanoate (fruity, wine).

  3. Allspice + peppertop 5% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together6,395 recipes

    Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).

  4. Cider + vinegartop 6% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together3,431 recipes

    Shared aroma: 4-ethyl-2-methoxyphenol (smoky, clove).

  5. Allspice + vinegartop 13% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together4,548 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-methylbutyl acetate (fruit).

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

What each ingredient does

Fish
Provides the main protein, which softens and sets into a tender, spreadable texture during long slow cooking.
Sago
Absorbs liquid and helps the layers hold together, giving the potted fish a firmer body.
Cider vinegar
Adds acidity that brightens the flavour and helps preserve the fish.
Coarse sea salt
Draws out moisture and seasons the fish, firming its texture before cooking.

The step that matters

Sealing the jar airtight. If the dough seal leaks, steam and water enter the jar during the long boil, diluting the vinegar and seasoning and letting the fish spoil. A tight seal keeps the contents moist and concentrated while it cooks.

Swap the clove

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (fish, allspice, pepper, cider, vinegar):

  1. Clovethe original
  2. Thymefits about as well
  3. Tarragonfits less well
  4. Marjoramfits less well

Fit is the average pairing score against fish, allspice, pepper, cider, vinegar. 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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