Why it works: Butter and bread are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 7% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 27,232 recipes. Both carry delta-decalactone, which smells sweet, creamy. The science ↓
Creamed Salmon on Toast
Ingredients
Directions
The book gives no cooking times; the times in the steps were added in transcription, so check for doneness rather than trusting the clock.
Prepare
Drain the salmon and flake it into pieces.
Make the creamed salmon
In a saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat.
Stir in the flour and cook for 1 minute.
Gradually add the milk, stirring constantly until thickened.
Add the flaked salmon, salt, and pepper; mix well.
Serve
Toast the bread and top with the creamed salmon.
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 + breadtop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together27,232 recipes
Shared aroma: delta-decalactone (sweet, creamy).
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Butter + milktop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together81,283 recipes
Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).
-
Milk + breadtop 11% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together11,466 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-undecenal (sweet).
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Butter + flourtop 12% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together124,287 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Flour + milktop 14% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together78,219 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
Butter and flour barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 124,287 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
- Butter
- Enriches the sauce and carries flavor as the base of the roux.
- Flour
- Thickens the milk into a smooth white sauce when cooked with the butter.
- Milk
- Forms the liquid of the sauce, which thickens as it heats with the roux.
- Salmon
- Provides the main protein and flavor, flaked into the white sauce.
The step that matters
Adding the milk gradually while stirring constantly. Adding liquid all at once to a flour and butter roux can form lumps that are hard to smooth out. Adding milk slowly while stirring keeps the starch dispersed so the sauce thickens evenly.
“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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