Why it works: Butter and bread are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 7% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 27,232 recipes. Both carry delta-decalactone, which smells sweet, creamy. The science ↓
Fish Pudding
Ingredients
Directions
The book gives no oven temperature. The 400°F (200°C) in the steps was added when the recipe was transcribed, as a starting point.
Prepare the filling
Chop the cooked fish finely.
In a pan, stew the fish with butter and pepper for a short time.
Beat the soaked bread or roll with the fish in a bowl.
Add the chopped gherkins, optional mushrooms or truffles, and eggs; mix well.
Cook and serve
Transfer the mixture to a pudding basin and bake at 400°F (200°C) or boil until set.
Serve with anchovy, Italian, or Geneva sauce.
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 + breadtop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together27,232 recipes
Shared aroma: delta-decalactone (sweet, creamy).
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Butter + mushroomtop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together12,525 recipes
Shared aroma: trans-2-decenal (waxy, orange).
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Bread + mushroomtop 10% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together2,536 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
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Fish + breadtop 10% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together1,668 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-undecenal (sweet).
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Pepper + mushroomtop 11% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together13,580 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Eggs
- Bind the mixture and set it into a firm, sliceable pudding when heated.
- Bread or french roll soaked in milk
- Adds moisture and a soft body so the pudding stays tender rather than dense.
- Butter
- Adds richness and carries flavour when the fish is stewed.
- Cooked fish
- Forms the main body and flavour of the pudding.
- Gherkins
- Add a sharp, acidic bite that cuts through the richness of the eggs and butter.
The step that matters
Baking or boiling until set. Eggs set through gentle, even heat; too much heat or too long cooking makes them curdle and turn the pudding dry and rubbery.
“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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