Why it works: Fish and egg are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 22% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 2,782 recipes. Both carry 2-nonenal, which smells fatty, green. The science ↓
Boiled Fish, Sauce Hollandaise
Ingredients
Directions
Remove the fins and gills from the fish.
For large fish, place in cold water; for small fish, use boiling water.
Add salt to the water.
Heat the water gradually for large fish to ensure thorough cooking.
For a small fish, it will be cooked when heated through.
To prepare the bouillon, use cheap wine or a vinegar-water mix with herbs.
Twist the fish into an 'S' shape and tie with string or cloth for easy lifting.
For the Hollandaise sauce, heat white sauce and stir in egg yolks and vinegar or lemon juice.
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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Fish + eggtop 22% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together2,782 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
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Fish + vinegartop 26% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together1,036 recipes
Shared aroma: acetoin (butter, cream).
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Vinegar + eggtop 33% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together12,922 recipes
Shared aroma: acetic acid (sour, vinegar).
Vinegar and egg barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 12,922 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
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