Why it works: Butter and cream are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 8% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 41,516 recipes. Both carry delta-dodecalactone, which smells sweet, creamy. The science ↓
To Broil Mackerel
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare and broil
Grease a broiler well.
Place the fish over a good fire and brown on both sides.
Finish and serve
Transfer to a platter and season with a little butter and pepper.
Alternatively, place the fish in a buttered dripping pan, skin side down, and bake until nicely browned.
For added richness, top with a few spoonfuls of cream.
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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Butter + creamtop 8% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together41,516 recipes
Shared aroma: delta-dodecalactone (sweet, creamy).
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Butter + peppertop 21% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together85,593 recipes
Shared aroma: trans-2-nonenal (cardboard, fatty).
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Pepper + creamtop 23% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together21,449 recipes
Shared aroma: acetic acid (sour, vinegar).
Pepper and cream barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 21,449 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
- Mackerel
- Provides the main protein and rich flesh that browns on the surface.
- Butter
- Adds fat and a rich flavour, and helps prevent the fish from sticking.
- Rich cream
- Adds richness and a smooth, mild moistness to the finished fish.
The step that matters
Browning the fish over a good fire. The fish must brown well on both sides over strong, direct heat. This develops savoury flavour through browning and gives a good surface before serving, while the interior cooks through.
“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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