Why it works: Salmon and cucumber work together. They rank in the top 11% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 513 recipes. Both carry 2,6-nonadienal, which smells cucumber, green. The science ↓
Baked Salmon
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare
Prepare the salmon cutlets as you would for broiling.
Butter a sheet of parchment paper.
Wrap each cutlet in the paper, folding the edges tightly.
Bake and serve
Place the wrapped cutlets in a baking dish with ½ cup of butter.
Bake in the oven, basting frequently.
Once done, remove the paper and serve with melted butter and dressed cucumber.
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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Salmon + cucumbertop 11% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together513 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,6-nonadienal (cucumber, green).
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Salmon + buttertop 16% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together4,481 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,6-nonadienal (cucumber, green).
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Butter + cucumbertop 24% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together2,185 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,6-nonadienal (cucumber, green).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Salmon cutlets
- Forms the main protein, cooking gently inside the parchment to stay moist.
- Butter
- Adds richness and moisture, and is spooned over the fish while it bakes.
The step that matters
Basting frequently in the oven. Basting spreads melted butter over the fish, adding moisture and richness so the salmon does not dry out during baking.
Swap the cucumber
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (salmon, butter):
- Chivefits better
- Potatofits about as well
- Asparagusfits about as well
- Cucumberthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against salmon, butter. 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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