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 ↓
Smoked Salmon
Ingredients
Directions
Cut the smoked salmon into thin slices.
Heat butter or oil in a frying pan until very hot.
Lay the salmon slices in the pan just long enough to warm them.
Remove the slices, drain them, and serve with a few drops of lemon juice or vinegar sprinkled on top.
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.
Photo for illustrative purposes only · Contact us to use it
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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Butter + lemontop 16% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together41,227 recipes
Shared aroma: 3-hexenal (apple, fruity).
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Salmon + lemontop 19% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together2,918 recipes
Shared aroma: decanal (soap, orange peel).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Smoked salmon
- Provides the main flavour and the tender, silky texture of the dish.
- Butter or oil
- Conducts heat to the salmon and adds richness to the surface.
- Lemon juice or vinegar
- Adds acidity that brightens the rich, smoky flavour of the salmon.
The step that matters
Warming the salmon briefly. Salmon is already cured and smoked, so it only needs to be warmed. Leaving the slices in the hot pan too long can toughen the flesh and dry it out, so they should be removed as soon as they are warm.
Swap the lemon
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (salmon, butter):
- Avocadofits better
- Coconutfits about as well
- Lemonthe original
- Mangofits less well
Fit is the average pairing score against salmon, butter. 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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