Why it works: Vinegar and horseradish are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 6% of all ingredient pairs, and 2,588 recipes mention both. Both carry isobutyraldehyde, which smells malty, green. The science ↓
The recipe
Ingredients
Contains: fish (auto-detected from the ingredients and method; we can miss things, so check labels)
Directions
Prepare
Wash and clean the cod's head thoroughly.
Bind it with tape to prevent the cheeks from breaking.
Boil
Place it in a kettle covered with cold water.
Add salt, vinegar, and horseradish.
Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer, skimming off any scum.
Boil the liver and roe separately for garnishing.
Cook for about 30 minutes or until the flesh easily separates from the bone.
Serve
Drain and serve on a hot napkin, garnished with horseradish and the liver, tongue, and roe.
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 aroma chemistry they share, and how many recipes mention both.
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Vinegar + horseradishtop 6% of all pairsAroma overlaplowMentioned together2,588 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Cod's head and shoulders
- Forms the main dish; its flesh firms and flakes as it cooks.
- Coarse sea salt
- Seasons the cooking water and flavours the flesh during simmering.
- Vinegar
- Adds acidity that brightens the flavour of the fish.
The step that matters
Skimming during the simmer. Bringing the water to a boil and then reducing to a simmer keeps the flesh tender and intact. Skimming off scum keeps the broth clear and clean-tasting. A hard boil can break up the delicate cheeks and make the fish cloudy.
“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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