Why it works: Pepper and vinegar are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 14% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 27,814 recipes. Both carry 4'-methylacetophenone, which smells bitter almond. The science ↓
To Bake or Pickle Herrings
Ingredients
Directions
The book gives no oven temperature. The 350°F (175°C) in the steps was added when the recipe was transcribed, as a starting point.
Prepare
Clean the herrings and wipe them with a damp cloth to remove scales; do not wash them.
Cut off the heads, tails, and fins, and remove the center bone.
Lay the herrings flat, roll them up with the back outwards, and season inside with salt and pepper.
Bake
Place the rolled herrings in a pie dish and dot with butter.
Sprinkle additional salt and pepper on top, then pour in vinegar and cold water to taste.
Bake in a 350°F (175°C) oven until cooked through.
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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Pepper + vinegartop 14% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together27,814 recipes
Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).
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Pepper + buttertop 21% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together85,593 recipes
Shared aroma: trans-2-nonenal (cardboard, fatty).
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Butter + vinegartop 23% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together13,513 recipes
Shared aroma: isoamyl acetate (banana, pear).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Herrings
- Form the main body of the dish, cooking to a flaky, tender texture.
- Butter
- Adds fat and richness, helping the fish stay moist as it bakes.
- Vinegar
- Adds acidity that gives the fish a sharp, tangy flavour.
The step that matters
Bake until cooked through. Fish cooks quickly and becomes dry and tough if overbaked, while underbaked fish stays translucent and unsafe to eat. Checking for an opaque, flaky centre helps you hit the right point between the two.
“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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