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Warmed-over Meats

A dish of fish and potatoes warmed in butter, cream, and eggs.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 7 ingredients
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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 ↓

Warmed-over Meats

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare

  1. Remove the fish from the bones and break it into small pieces.

  2. Cut the potatoes into small pieces.

Cook

  1. Melt butter in a skillet over medium heat.

  2. Add cream, then stir in the fish and potatoes.

  3. Season with pepper and salt, stirring frequently until heated through but not browned.

  4. Just before serving, add the well-beaten eggs and mix well.

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. Butter + creamtop 8% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together41,516 recipes

    Shared aroma: delta-dodecalactone (sweet, creamy).

  2. Potato + peppertop 9% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together8,305 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).

  3. Fish + buttertop 12% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together4,488 recipes

    Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).

  4. Potato + buttertop 13% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together6,456 recipes

    Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).

  5. Fish + potatotop 15% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together134 recipes

    Shared aroma: (e,z)-2,6-nonadienal (cucumber, melon).

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 and flaky texture of the dish.
Potatoes
Add starchy body and bulk that holds the mixture together when warmed.
Cream
Adds moisture and richness, giving the mixture a smooth, silky texture.
Eggs
Set gently with the heat to bind the mixture and thicken it slightly.

The step that matters

Adding the eggs just before serving. Eggs set when heated, so adding them at the end and mixing well lets them thicken the dish gently without turning grainy or rubbery from overcooking.

Swap the potato

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (fish, butter, cream, pepper, egg):

  1. Potatothe original
  2. Asparagusfits about as well
  3. Capsicumfits about as well
  4. Spinachfits about as well

Fit is the average pairing score against fish, butter, cream, pepper, egg. 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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