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Cod Steaks with Ham

Cod steaks coated in breadcrumb mixture, topped with ham, baked until cooked.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 10 ingredients
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Why it works: Anchovy and sauce are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 2% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 2,057 recipes. Both carry ethanol, which smells alcoholic, ethereal. The science ↓

Cod Steaks with Ham

Oven, in the book's wordsA fairly hot oven

Ingredients

Directions

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

Prepare

  1. Wipe the cod slices and place them on a buttered dish.

  2. Mix the bread crumbs, savory herbs, and parsley, then bind with the beaten egg.

  3. Spread the mixture on each slice of fish and season with salt and pepper.

  4. Top each slice with a slice of raw ham or lean bacon.

Bake and serve

  1. Place the fish in a well-greased paper bag, fold the end, and fasten with clips.

  2. Bake in a 400°F (200 °C) oven for about 20 minutes.

  3. Serve with anchovy sauce if desired.

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. Anchovy + saucetop 2% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together2,057 recipes

    Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).

  2. Parsley + peppertop 2% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together34,122 recipes

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

  3. Butter + breadtop 7% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together27,232 recipes

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

  4. Bread + hamtop 7% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together2,536 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-acetyl-1-pyrroline (popcorn, roasted).

  5. Bread + anchovytop 10% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together1,260 recipes

    Shared aroma: hexanol (green, fruity).

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

What each ingredient does

Cod
Forms the main body of the dish, cooking gently inside the bag to stay moist.
Bread crumbs
Absorb moisture and form a crisp, golden crust with the egg and herbs.
Egg
Binds the crumb mixture so it holds firmly on the fish.
Ham or bacon
Adds fat and savory flavor that seasons the fish as it bakes.

The step that matters

Fastening the paper bag. The sealed bag traps steam so the cod cooks gently and stays moist; a loose or torn bag lets steam escape and can dry the fish.

Swap the parsley

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (butter, bread, egg, pepper, ham, anchovy, sauce):

  1. Capersfits about as well
  2. Parsleythe original
  3. Nutmegfits less well
  4. Tarragonfits less well

Fit is the average pairing score against butter, bread, egg, pepper, ham, anchovy, sauce. 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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