Why it works: Fish and flour are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 27% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 2,532 recipes. Both carry acetaldehyde, which smells pungent, ethereal. The science ↓
Boiled Codfish, Halibut, or Salmon
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare the fish
Wash the fish and wipe it dry.
Dredge the fish with flour.
Sew or tie the fish in a clean cloth.
Cook and serve
Put the fish in boiling salted water.
Boil for fifteen minutes for every pound of fish.
Remove the fish immediately when done.
Serve on a hot platter with drawn butter, egg sauce, or cream sauce.
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.
-
Fish + flourtop 27% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together2,532 recipes
Shared aroma: acetaldehyde (pungent, ethereal).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Flour
- Dry coating that helps the fish hold its shape and gives a slightly firmer surface.
The step that matters
Remove the fish immediately when done. Fish protein keeps firming after it reaches doneness, so leaving it in hot water past that point makes it dry and tough.
“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.
You might also like
Fried Fish120 recipes
Fish Croquettes81 recipes
Scalloped Cod69 recipes
Broiled Fish68 recipesThe free Flavor Lab newsletter: one surprising pairing a week and the molecular reason it works, in 60 seconds. No spam, unsubscribe anytime.
Prefer an account? Create a free account to save pairings and unlock the full chemistry.