Why it works: Pepper and lemon match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 3% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 27,047 recipes. Both carry trans-2-nonenal, which smells cardboard, fatty. The science ↓
Salt Mackerel
Ingredients
Directions
Desalt the fish
Soak the fish in lukewarm water for a few hours, changing the water several times.
Tie the fish loosely in cloths and place it in cold water.
Bring the water to a boil, turning off the heat once, and pour hot water over the fish from a kettle.
Let it come to a boil again, then remove the fish and drain it.
Finish and serve
Lay the fish on a platter, butter and pepper it, and place it in the oven for a few moments.
Serve with sliced lemons or a nice fish sauce.
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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Pepper + lemontop 3% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together27,047 recipes
Shared aroma: trans-2-nonenal (cardboard, fatty).
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Butter + lemontop 16% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together41,227 recipes
Shared aroma: 3-hexenal (apple, fruity).
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Butter + peppertop 21% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked 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
- Salt mackerel
- Is the main protein; soaking and poaching draw out its salt so it can be eaten.
- Butter
- Adds fat and richness, giving the warm fish a softer mouthfeel and a smooth coating.
- Sliced lemons
- Adds acidity that cuts the richness of the oily fish and brightens its flavour.
The step that matters
Changing the soaking water. Salt draws out of the fish into the water, so fresh lukewarm water several times keeps the gradient working. Skipping changes leaves the mackerel too salty.
“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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