Why it works: Butter and flour are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 12% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 124,287 recipes. Both carry isobutyraldehyde, which smells malty, green. The science ↓
Broiled Salmon
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare
Scale, cleanse, and wipe the salmon slices.
Melt the butter smoothly in a pan.
Whisk in the flour and salt until thickened.
Coat the salmon slices well in the butter mixture.
Broil and serve
Prepare a clean grill and heat it to a high temperature.
Broil the salmon for about 10 minutes, turning as needed.
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 + flourtop 12% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together124,287 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Salmon + buttertop 16% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together4,481 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,6-nonadienal (cucumber, green).
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Salmon + flourtop 27% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together2,776 recipes
Shared aroma: eugenol (clove, spicy).
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
- Salmon
- Forms the main protein that cooks through and turns flaky under high heat.
- Butter
- Adds fat and moisture, helping the surface stay rich and resist drying during broiling.
- Flour
- Thickens the melted butter so it clings to the salmon as a coating.
The step that matters
Coat the salmon slices well in the butter mixture. A thin, even coat holds moisture and fat on the surface, helping the fish stay moist and promoting even browning under the broiler. Gaps in the coating can dry out or scorch.
“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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