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Cod Roe and Cod Liver

A dish of cod roe and cod liver seasoned with salt and pepper, simmered slowly, served with melted butter.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 6 ingredients
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Why it works: Roe and butter work together. They rank in the top 14% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 442 recipes. Both carry 2,6-nonadienal, which smells cucumber, green. The science ↓

Cod Roe and Cod Liver

Ingredients

Directions

The book gives no oven temperature. The 300°F (150°C) in the steps was added when the recipe was transcribed, as a starting point.

Prepare the roe

  1. Open the skin surrounding the cod liver and roe.

  2. Place the roe in a basin.

  3. Cover the basin with water and mash the roe to separate. Discard the water.

  4. Add salt and pepper to the roe.

  5. Let the roe soak overnight.

  6. Rinse the roe well in 2-3 waters.

Cook and serve

  1. Cut the cod liver into 6-8 pieces.

  2. Layer the soaked roe and cod liver pieces in a stewpan.

  3. Cook on a very slow fire or in an oven at 300°F (150°C) for 1 hour.

  4. Serve the liver with melted butter mixed into the roe.

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. Roe + buttertop 14% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together442 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2,6-nonadienal (cucumber, green).

  2. Liver + roetop 18% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together69 recipes

    Shared aroma: eugenol (clove, spicy).

  3. Liver + buttertop 19% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together2,065 recipes

    Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).

  4. Liver + peppertop 21% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together2,375 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).

  5. Pepper + buttertop 21% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together85,593 recipes

    Shared aroma: trans-2-nonenal (cardboard, fatty).

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

What each ingredient does

Cod roe
Forms the main body of the dish and sets into a firm, flaky texture when cooked slowly.
Cod liver
Adds richness and a soft, tender texture through its natural oils.
Melted butter
Adds fat and smooth richness that coats the roe and liver.
Coarse sea salt
Draws out moisture and seasons the roe during soaking.

The step that matters

Rinsing the roe. Soaking and rinsing remove excess salt and loose fluid. Rinsing in several changes of water keeps the roe from tasting harsh and helps it cook evenly.

“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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