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Fish Pudding

A baked fish and potato mixture flavored with butter, egg, milk, parsley, and seasonings.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 8 ingredients
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Why it works: Parsley and pepper match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 2% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 34,122 recipes. Both carry 4'-methylacetophenone, which smells bitter almond. The science ↓

Fish Pudding

Oven, in the book's wordsA moderate oven

Ingredients

Directions

The book says “a moderate oven”. The 350°F (175°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.

Prepare

  1. Remove the fat and skin from the fish, and break it into small flakes.

  2. Rub the potato through a wire sieve.

  3. Mix the sieved potato with the fish.

  4. Add pepper and coarse sea salt to taste.

Make the mixture

  1. Melt the butter in a saucepan.

  2. Add the fish mixture and mix well.

  3. Add the beaten egg, milk, and parsley to the mixture.

Bake and serve

  1. Pour the mixture into a greased and crumb-coated mould or pie dish.

  2. Bake in a moderate oven at 350°F (175°C) for about 30 minutes.

  3. Turn out onto a serving plate.

  4. Garnish with parsley and lemon.

  5. Serve.

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. Parsley + peppertop 2% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together34,122 recipes

    Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).

  2. Potato + parsleytop 5% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together2,855 recipes

    Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).

  3. Butter + milktop 7% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together81,283 recipes

    Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).

  4. Potato + peppertop 9% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together8,305 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).

  5. Potato + milktop 9% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together3,611 recipes

    Shared aroma: (e,z)-2,6-nonadienal (cucumber, melon).

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

Fish
Forms the body of the pudding and gives it its main flavour.
Potato
Adds bulk and a soft, smooth texture that helps bind the fish.
Butter
Adds richness and moisture to the mixture.
Egg
Binds the mixture and helps it set when baked.
Milk
Adds moisture and softness to the mixture.

The step that matters

Baking the pudding. Egg proteins set as they heat, so baking at a moderate heat for the stated time firms the pudding without drying it. Too hot an oven can make the egg curdle and toughen the texture.

Swap the parsley

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (fish, potato, butter, egg, milk, pepper):

  1. Parsleythe original
  2. Nutmegfits about as well
  3. Thymefits less well
  4. Dillfits less well

Fit is the average pairing score against fish, potato, butter, egg, milk, pepper. 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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