Why it works: Salmon and butter are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 7% of all ingredient pairs, and 4,472 recipes mention both. Both carry 2,6-nonadienal, which smells cucumber, green. The science ↓
The recipe
Ingredients
Contains: milk, fish (auto-detected from the ingredients and method; we can miss things, so check labels)
Directions
Broil the salmon slices until cooked through.
Serve with melted butter or sauce piquante.
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.
-
Salmon + buttertop 7% of all pairsAroma overlapmoderateMentioned together4,472 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,6-nonadienal (cucumber, green).
-
Butter + saucetop 8% of all pairsAroma overlaplowMentioned together15,317 recipes
Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
-
Salmon + saucetop 10% of all pairsAroma overlaplowMentioned together1,763 recipes
Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
Butter and sauce share little aroma chemistry, yet 15,317 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
You might also like
Illustration
Illustration
Illustration
IllustrationThe Sunday pairing: one pairing, the chemistry behind it, and how to cook it. No spam, unsubscribe anytime.
Prefer an account? Create a free account for sign-in; Pro adds the full results and chemistry.