Why it works: Potato and onion are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 3% of all ingredient pairs, and 9,023 recipes mention both. Both carry 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine, which smells earthy, pea. The science ↓
Salt Share
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare
Pare and thinly slice the potatoes and onion.
Place the fish, onion, potatoes, and crushed cracker in a buttered baking dish.
Cook
Add seasoning, cover with hot water, and boil gently for 20 minutes.
Add the hot milk and cream, then let it boil up.
Serve
Serve with crackers or toasted bread.
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 aroma chemistry they share, and how many recipes mention both.
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Potato + oniontop 3% of all pairsAroma overlapmoderateMentioned together9,023 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
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Milk + potatotop 9% of all pairsAroma overlapmoderateMentioned together3,611 recipes
Shared aroma: (e,z)-2,6-nonadienal (cucumber, melon).
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Cream + potatotop 17% of all pairsAroma overlaplowMentioned together2,481 recipes
Shared aroma: 1-octen-3-one (mushroom, metallic).
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Milk + creamtop 18% of all pairsAroma overlapmoderateMentioned together29,399 recipes
Shared aroma: delta-dodecalactone (sweet, creamy).
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Cream + oniontop 18% of all pairsAroma overlaplowMentioned together10,827 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonanone (fruity, floral).
Cream and onion share little aroma chemistry, yet 10,827 recipes mention both: they likely work on texture and structure more than aroma.
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Salt shark
- Provides the main savoury flavour and body of the dish.
- Raw potatoes
- Thicken the dish as their starch softens during gentle boiling.
- Milk
- Adds moisture and creaminess to the finished dish.
- Rich cream
- Adds fat, richness and a smoother texture.
- Cracker
- Crushed crackers add body and help bind the mixture.
The step that matters
Boiling the milk and cream. Once dairy is added, letting it boil up can cause it to curdle or scorch on the base of the dish. Keep the heat controlled and watch the surface closely as it comes up to a boil.
“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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