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Salmon Mould

A steamed salmon dish with breadcrumbs, eggs, butter, and seasonings.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 7 ingredients
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Why it works: Pepper and parsley match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 2% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 34,122 recipes. Both carry 4'-methylacetophenone, which smells bitter almond. The science ↓

Salmon Mould

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare

  1. Drain the salmon and remove the bones.

  2. Melt the butter and mix it with the seasoning.

  3. Combine the bread crumbs with the beaten eggs.

Mix and steam

  1. Mix all ingredients in a buttered mold or bowl.

  2. Steam for one hour.

Serve

  1. Garnish with white sauce and green peas.

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. Pepper + parsleytop 2% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together34,122 recipes

    Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).

  2. Bread + buttertop 7% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together27,232 recipes

    Shared aroma: delta-decalactone (sweet, creamy).

  3. Bread + eggtop 13% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together22,662 recipes

    Shared aroma: (e)-2-octenal (fatty, green).

  4. Butter + parsleytop 15% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together28,563 recipes

    Shared aroma: trans-2-hexenal (green, leafy).

  5. Bread + parsleytop 15% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together8,588 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).

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

What each ingredient does

Salmon
Provides the main body and flaky texture of the mould.
Eggs
Bind the mixture and set into a firm, sliceable custard when heated.
Bread crumbs
Absorb liquid from the eggs and butter, giving the mould structure and a tender crumb.
Butter
Adds fat for richness and moisture, keeping the mould from drying out.

The step that matters

Steam for one hour. Gentle, moist heat sets the egg proteins slowly into a tender, cohesive mould. Too much heat or a dry steamer makes the eggs tough and rubbery, and the mould can dry out or crack.

Swap the parsley

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (salmon, bread, egg, butter, pepper):

  1. Parsleythe original
  2. Capersfits about as well
  3. Nutmegfits about as well
  4. Tarragonfits less well

Fit is the average pairing score against salmon, bread, egg, butter, pepper. 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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