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Pickled Mackerel

Pickled mackerel prepared by cleaning, seasoning, baking, and preserving in vinegar.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 6 ingredients
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Why it works: Clove and allspice match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 7,874 recipes. Both carry estragole, which smells anise, licorice. The science ↓

Pickled Mackerel

Ingredients

Directions

The book gives no oven temperature. The 400°F (200°C) in the steps was added when the recipe was transcribed, as a starting point.

Prepare the fish

  1. Clean the mackerel by cutting them open slightly and washing them in saltwater.

  2. Place the cleaned mackerel in a baking pan.

  3. Sprinkle with coarse sea salt, black pepper, whole cloves, and allspice.

  4. Add enough vinegar to cover the fish and bake at 400°F (200°C) for about 15 minutes.

Pack and seal

  1. Layer the baked mackerel in a stone jar, sprinkling a little salt between each layer.

  2. Heat vinegar with whole cloves and allspice until hot.

  3. Pour the hot vinegar over the mackerel in the jar and seal tightly.

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. Clove + allspicetop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together7,874 recipes

    Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).

  2. Pepper + clovetop 5% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together17,451 recipes

    Shared aroma: ethyl octanoate (fruity, wine).

  3. Pepper + allspicetop 5% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together6,395 recipes

    Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).

  4. Allspice + vinegartop 13% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together4,548 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-methylbutyl acetate (fruit).

  5. Pepper + vinegartop 14% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together27,814 recipes

    Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

Mackerel
Is the main protein; its oily flesh firms and turns opaque as it bakes and pickles.
Vinegar
Acidity that preserves the fish and gives it a sharp, tangy flavour.
Coarse sea salt
Seasons the fish and draws out moisture, helping firm the flesh.
Whole cloves
Adds warm, aromatic spice flavour that infuses into the vinegar and fish.
Allspice
Contributes warm, aromatic spice flavour that complements the vinegar.

The step that matters

Covering the fish with hot vinegar and sealing the jar. The vinegar must fully cover the fish so no part is exposed to air, where spoilage can start. Acidity from the vinegar is what preserves the fish, so a tight seal keeps it effective over time.

“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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