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Cod-steaks

Broiled cod steaks served with potato balls.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 11 ingredients
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Why it works: Pepper and potato are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 9% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 8,305 recipes. Both carry 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine, which smells earthy, pea. The science ↓

Cod-steaks

Oven, in the book's wordsA quick oven

Ingredients

Directions

The book says “a quick oven”. The 400°F (200°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.

Prepare the cod

  1. Soak the cod steaks in salt water for 15 minutes.

  2. Wipe them dry and coat with salad oil and vinegar for at least 30 minutes.

Cook the cod

  1. Broil the cod steaks on a well-greased grill.

  2. Butter the cod.

  3. Season the cod with pepper and coarse sea salt.

Make and bake the potato balls

  1. Mix a raw egg into mashed potatoes.

  2. Form the mixture into balls.

  3. Roll the balls in flour.

  4. Place the balls on the upper rack of a 400°F (200°C) oven to brown.

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. Pepper + potatotop 9% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together8,305 recipes

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

  2. Butter + flourtop 12% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together124,287 recipes

    Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).

  3. Butter + potatotop 13% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together6,456 recipes

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

  4. Vinegar + peppertop 14% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together27,814 recipes

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

  5. Potato + flourtop 15% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together5,355 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

Cod steaks
The main protein, which broils into flaky portions once its surface is dry and oiled.
Potatoes
Provide the starchy bulk and moisture that make the balls soft inside.
Raw egg
Binds the mashed potato so the balls hold their shape while baking.
Flour
Forms a dry outer coat that helps the potato balls brown in the oven.
Butter
Adds richness and helps the cod surface brown and taste savoury.
Vinegar
Adds a sharp acidic note that brightens the mild flavour of the cod.

The step that matters

Broil the cod on a well-greased grill. Cod is lean and delicate, so it dries out quickly under heat and sticks to bare metal. A well-oiled grill keeps the fish from tearing, and a dry surface helps it brown rather than steam.

Swap the potato

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

  1. Shallotfits better
  2. Capsicumfits better
  3. Chivefits better
  4. Potatothe original

Fit is the average pairing score against vinegar, butter, pepper, egg, flour. 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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