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
Wash the fish and wipe it dry.
Dredge the fish with flour.
Sew or tie the fish in a clean cloth.
Boil and serve
Bring salted water to a boil.
Boil the fish for 15 minutes per pound.
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.
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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
- Forms a light coating on the fish surface that helps protect its delicate flesh while boiling.
The step that matters
Boil the fish for 15 minutes per pound. Fish proteins set and turn opaque as they heat, and overcooking makes the flesh dry and firm. Timing by weight helps stop the fish once it is just cooked through.
“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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