Why it works: Flour and butter are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 6% of all ingredient pairs, and 122,858 recipes mention both. Both carry isobutyraldehyde, which smells malty, green. The science ↓
The recipe
Ingredients
Contains: milk, wheat, fish (auto-detected from the ingredients and method; we can miss things, so check labels)
Directions
Prepare the fish
Split the fish by the backbone and cut each side into pieces three inches wide.
Roll the fish pieces in flour.
Broil and serve
Broil the fish over a clear, brisk fire of coals, starting with the inside facing the fire.
In a dish, mix the butter, salt, and pepper.
As the fish pieces are done, lay them in the butter and turn to coat before serving.
Alternatively, cut the fish into steaks one inch thick and finish in the same manner.
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 aroma chemistry they share, and how many recipes mention both.
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Flour + buttertop 6% of all pairsAroma overlaplowMentioned together122,858 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Butter + peppertop 11% of all pairsAroma overlapstrongMentioned together85,512 recipes
Shared aroma: ethyl octanoate (fruity, wine).
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Flour + peppertop 13% of all pairsAroma overlaplowMentioned together49,477 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
Flour and butter share little aroma chemistry, yet 122,858 recipes mention both: they likely 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
- Forms the main body of the dish, cooking into flaky pieces when broiled.
- Flour
- Coats the fish so its surface browns and holds moisture during broiling.
- Butter
- Adds richness and moisture, coating the cooked fish for flavor.
The step that matters
Broil the fish over a clear, brisk fire. A clear, brisk fire of coals gives strong, even heat so the fish sears and browns before it dries out. Starting with the inside facing the fire helps the thicker flesh cook 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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