Why it works: Butter and mustard are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 22% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 8,003 recipes. Both carry guaiacol, which smells smoky, sweet. The science ↓
To Broil Red Herrings and Salt Pilchards
Ingredients
Directions
Soak the red herrings in boiling water or beer.
Broil them over a brisk fire on a toasting fork until cooked through.
Rub butter into the roe until absorbed.
If there are hard roes, open the belly and insert butter between the lobes, then close it.
Serve with mustard.
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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Butter + mustardtop 22% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together8,003 recipes
Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
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