Why it works: Clove and vinegar are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 15% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 10,386 recipes. Both carry isobutyraldehyde, which smells malty, green. The science ↓
Boiled Salmon
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare
Clean the salmon and wrap it in muslin, securing it tightly.
Place the wrapped salmon in a pot and cover with cold water.
Add salt, peppercorns, clove, bay leaf, and vinegar to the pot.
Poach and serve
Bring the water to a boil, skim off any foam, and then reduce to a slow boil.
Cook for about 50 minutes for a 6-pound piece of salmon.
Remove the fish and drain it; the skin should come off with the muslin.
Serve with white sauce, Tartare, Hollandaise, or Savoury 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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Clove + vinegartop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together10,386 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
-
Salmon + vinegartop 27% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together1,675 recipes
Shared aroma: acetic acid (sour, vinegar).
-
Salmon + clovetop 32% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together724 recipes
Shared aroma: eugenol (clove, spicy).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Salmon
- Is the main protein; gentle simmering keeps its flesh moist and tender rather than dry.
- Vinegar
- Adds a light acidity that brightens the flavour of the poaching liquid and the fish.
The step that matters
Bring to a boil, then reduce to a slow boil. Boiling hard toughens and breaks up delicate salmon proteins and can cloud the liquid. A gentle simmer cooks the fish evenly and keeps it moist and tender.
Swap the clove
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (salmon, vinegar):
- Dillfits better
- Capersfits better
- Tarragonfits better
- Clovethe original
Fit is the average pairing score against salmon, vinegar. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.
“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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