Why it works: Fish and vinegar are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 26% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 1,036 recipes. Both carry acetoin, which smells butter, cream. The science ↓
Boiled Fish
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare
Rub the fish with vinegar.
Place the fish on the drainer of a fish kettle.
In a pot, combine water, salt, and vinegar. Ensure the water is cold and covers the fish.
Boil and serve
Bring the pot to a brisk boil.
Skim off any scum that rises.
Remove the fish as soon as it is done to avoid overcooking.
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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Fish + vinegartop 26% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together1,036 recipes
Shared aroma: acetoin (butter, cream).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Fish
- Is the main protein that cooks gently in the simmering poaching liquid.
- Vinegar
- Adds acidity that brightens the flavour of the fish and the poaching liquid.
- Coarse sea salt
- Seasons the poaching water so the fish is seasoned through its flesh.
The step that matters
Remove the fish as soon as it is done. Fish proteins set and toughen quickly with continued heat, so leaving it in the water past doneness makes the flesh dry and firm.
“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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