Why it works: Vinegar and pepper are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 14% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 27,814 recipes. Both carry 4'-methylacetophenone, which smells bitter almond. The science ↓
Gravy for Fish
Ingredients
Directions
Make the gravy
For baked fish, remove the fish from the tin and make the gravy in it.
Add the fish stock or water, roux, vinegar, ketchup, salt, and pepper to the gravy that has run from the fish.
Boil the mixture over the fire and strain it into a dish.
Boiled fish variation
For boiled fish, use the same ingredients with the liquor in which the fish was boiled.
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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Vinegar + peppertop 14% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together27,814 recipes
Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).
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Fish + peppertop 21% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together3,948 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
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Vinegar + ketchuptop 21% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together737 recipes
Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
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Ketchup + peppertop 24% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together3,207 recipes
Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
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Fish + vinegartop 26% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together1,036 recipes
Shared aroma: acetoin (butter, cream).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Roux
- Thickens the liquid into a smooth gravy as it cooks.
- Fish stock or water
- Forms the liquid base of the gravy.
- Vinegar
- Adds acidity that sharpens the flavour of the gravy.
- Ketchup
- Adds sweetness and tang to the gravy.
The step that matters
Boil the mixture over the fire. The roux needs to come to a boil to fully thicken the liquid. Boiling also cooks out the raw floury taste, and straining afterward removes any lumps.
“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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