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Fish Stock

A clear liquid made by simmering fish bones, skin, water, milk, shallot, bay leaf, mace, and peppercorns.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 7 ingredients
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Why it works: Fish and milk are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 13% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 1,432 recipes. Both carry 4-heptenal, which smells creamy, biscuit. The science ↓

Fish Stock

Ingredients

Directions

  1. Combine fish bones, skin, water, milk, shallot, bay leaf, mace, and peppercorns in a pot.

  2. Simmer for 10 minutes.

  3. Strain the mixture to obtain the stock.

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. Fish + milktop 13% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together1,432 recipes

    Shared aroma: 4-heptenal (creamy, biscuit).

  2. Milk + macetop 17% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together3,346 recipes

    Shared aroma: sabinene (woody, terpenic).

  3. Fish + shallottop 19% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together174 recipes

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

  4. Shallot + macetop 21% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together1,257 recipes

    Shared aroma: eugenol (clove, spicy).

  5. Milk + shallottop 24% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together458 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

Fish bones and skin
Release gelatin and savory flavor, giving the stock body and a fuller taste.
Milk
Adds richness and a soft, slightly sweet dairy note that mellows the fish flavor.
Shallot
Contributes a mild aromatic sweetness that rounds out the stock.
Mace
Adds a warm, nutmeg-like aroma.
Peppercorns
Add gentle, warm pepper aroma and a little spice.

The step that matters

Simmer gently. Keep the pot at a gentle simmer rather than a rolling boil. Vigorous boiling can break up the bones and cloud the stock, and milk can scorch or curdle on the bottom of the pot.

Swap the shallot

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (fish, milk, mace):

  1. Potatofits better
  2. Capsicumfits better
  3. Carrotfits better
  4. Shallotthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against fish, milk, mace. 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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