Why it works: Salmon and butter are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 16% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 4,481 recipes. Both carry 2,6-nonadienal, which smells cucumber, green. The science ↓
Salmon Loaf
Ingredients
Directions
Mix
Break the salmon into pieces with a fork.
Add cracker crumbs, melted butter, beaten eggs, salt, and red pepper.
Mix well and pour into a buttered mold.
Cook and serve
Boil for 1 hour.
Turn out and slice when cold.
Garnish with hard boiled egg and serve with lemon.
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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Salmon + buttertop 16% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together4,481 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,6-nonadienal (cucumber, green).
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Salmon + eggtop 16% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together3,485 recipes
Shared aroma: decanal (soap, orange peel).
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Butter + eggtop 17% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together118,967 recipes
Shared aroma: decanal (soap, orange peel).
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Butter + peppertop 21% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together85,593 recipes
Shared aroma: trans-2-nonenal (cardboard, fatty).
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Salmon + peppertop 27% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together5,446 recipes
Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Salmon
- Forms the main body of the loaf and gives it its flavour and texture.
- Cracker crumbs
- Absorb moisture and help bind the salmon into a cohesive loaf.
- Eggs
- Bind the mixture, setting with heat to hold the loaf together.
- Melted butter
- Adds fat, which keeps the loaf moist and tender and adds richness.
The step that matters
Turn out and slice when cold. Eggs and starch set as the loaf cools, so slicing too early can crumble it. Letting it cool firm lets the binder hold clean slices.
“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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