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 ↓
Forcemeat for Fish
Ingredients
Directions
Mince the oysters and finely chop the suet.
Mix all the ingredients together, seasoning to taste.
Blend in the beaten egg and a little milk.
Put the mixture in a small saucepan and stir until it thickens.
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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Anchovy + saucetop 2% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together2,057 recipes
Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
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Oyster + anchovytop 8% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together603 recipes
Shared aroma: decanal (soap, orange peel).
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Anchovy + eggtop 12% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together2,330 recipes
Shared aroma: decanal (soap, orange peel).
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Oyster + eggtop 14% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together4,103 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
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Oyster + saucetop 14% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together2,233 recipes
Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Breadcrumbs
- Provide the bulk and body that hold the forcemeat together.
- Oysters
- Supply the main fish flavour and the minced texture of the forcemeat.
- Suet
- Adds fat that keeps the forcemeat moist and rich as it cooks.
- Egg
- Binds the mixture and sets it on heating to give a firmer texture.
The step that matters
Stirring until it thickens. Heat sets the beaten egg proteins and thickens the mixture, but overheating or stirring too hard can curdle the egg or make it stiff. Stir gently over low heat and stop as soon as it thickens.
“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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