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Forcemeat for Fish

A mixture of oysters, suet, breadcrumbs, herbs, anchovy sauce, milk, and egg used as fish forcemeat.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 8 ingredients
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Why it works: Anchovy and sauce are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 2% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 2,057 recipes. Both carry ethanol, which smells alcoholic, ethereal. The science ↓

Forcemeat for Fish

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare and mix

  1. Mince the oysters and chop the suet finely.

  2. Thoroughly mix all the ingredients, seasoning to taste.

Bind and cook

  1. Blend with the beaten egg and a little milk.

  2. Put the forcemeat in a small saucepan and stir until it thickens.

Recipe from a historical cookbook (Internet Archive).

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.

  1. Anchovy + saucetop 2% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together2,057 recipes

    Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).

  2. Oyster + anchovytop 8% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together603 recipes

    Shared aroma: decanal (soap, orange peel).

  3. Bread + anchovytop 10% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together1,260 recipes

    Shared aroma: hexanol (green, fruity).

  4. Bread + milktop 11% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together11,466 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-undecenal (sweet).

  5. Anchovy + eggtop 12% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together2,330 recipes

    Shared aroma: decanal (soap, orange peel).

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

Large egg
Binds the mixture together and helps it set as it heats.
Bread crumbs
Absorb moisture and give the forcemeat body and structure.
Suet
Adds fat that keeps the forcemeat moist and rich in texture.
Oysters
Provide the main fish flavour and some texture to the forcemeat.

The step that matters

Stirring until it thickens. Stirring over heat cooks the beaten egg gradually so it thickens the mixture. If heated too fiercely or left still, the egg can curdle or scramble, leaving a grainy texture instead of a smooth, cohesive forcemeat.

Swap the mace

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (bread, oyster, pepper, anchovy, sauce, milk, egg):

  1. Capersfits better
  2. Parsleyfits better
  3. Nutmegfits better
  4. Macethe original

Fit is the average pairing score against bread, oyster, pepper, anchovy, sauce, milk, egg. 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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