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Pickled Fish

A method of preserving fish by layering with salt, spices, onion, and vinegar, then heating overnight.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 6 ingredients
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Why it works: Clove and onion are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 13% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 16,901 recipes. Both carry 2-nonanone, which smells fruity, floral. The science ↓

Pickled Fish

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare

  1. Layer fresh fish in a large stone pot.

  2. Season with coarse sea salt, whole peppercorns, whole cloves, and sliced onion.

  3. Repeat layering and seasoning until the pot is full.

Pickle and cool

  1. Pour enough vinegar over the fish to cover it.

  2. Place the pot in a lukewarm oven overnight.

  3. In the morning, remove the pot and let it cool.

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 + oniontop 13% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together16,901 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-nonanone (fruity, floral).

  2. Onion + vinegartop 14% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together18,226 recipes

    Shared aroma: acetic acid (sour, vinegar).

  3. Clove + vinegartop 15% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together10,386 recipes

    Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).

  4. Fish + oniontop 19% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together1,924 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).

  5. Fish + clovetop 25% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together615 recipes

    Shared aroma: alpha-pinene (pine, turpentine).

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

What each ingredient does

Fresh fish
Forms the main body of the dish, which the salt and vinegar gradually firm and preserve.
Coarse sea salt
Draws moisture out of the fish and seasons it, helping to firm the flesh during curing.
Vinegar
Acidifies the fish, slowing spoilage and firming its texture as it pickles.
Whole peppercorns
Add a sharp, aromatic warmth that flavours the fish as it pickles.
Whole cloves
Contribute a strong, aromatic spice flavour to the pickling liquid and fish.
Onion
Adds savoury aroma and mild sweetness that mellows during pickling.

The step that matters

Covering the fish fully with vinegar. Fish left exposed above the liquid can spoil, since the acid only preserves and firms what it fully contacts. Keeping every piece submerged ensures even pickling throughout the pot.

Swap the clove

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (fish, onion, vinegar):

  1. Garlicfits better
  2. Tarragonfits better
  3. Capersfits better
  4. Clovethe original

Fit is the average pairing score against fish, onion, vinegar. 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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