Why it works: Onion and white wine are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 12% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 4,535 recipes. Both carry 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine, which smells earthy, pea. The science ↓
Fricassee of Cod
Ingredients
Directions
Cut the cod into fillets.
Toss the fillets in oil with the chopped onion.
Moisten with white wine and fish broth.
Cook until done, then serve hot.
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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Onion + white winetop 12% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together4,535 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
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White wine + fishtop 14% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together370 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,3-pentanedione (butter, sweet).
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Onion + fishtop 19% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together1,924 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
- Sounds of cod
- The main protein, which turns opaque and flakes apart as it cooks.
- Oil
- Carries flavour and helps coat the fish so it does not stick or dry out.
- Onion
- Adds aromatic sweetness and savoury depth as it softens in the fat.
- White wine
- Adds acidity and aroma, and helps lift flavour from the pan into the sauce.
- Fish broth
- Adds savoury depth and moisture, forming the cooking liquid for the fish.
The step that matters
Cook until done, then serve hot. Cod has very little fat and its proteins tighten quickly with heat, so overcooking makes it dry and tough. Stop cooking as soon as the flesh turns opaque and flakes easily.
Swap the onion
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (white wine, fish):
- Shallotfits about as well
- Tomatofits about as well
- Potatofits about as well
- Onionthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against white wine, fish. 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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