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Salmon Scalloped

Salmon scalloped is baked salmon in shells with breadcrumbs, white sauce, butter, cheese, salt, and pepper.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 7 ingredients
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Why it works: Butter and cheese are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 8% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 7,962 recipes. Both carry delta-dodecalactone, which smells sweet, creamy. The science ↓

Salmon Scalloped

Oven, in the book's wordsA moderate oven

Ingredients

Directions

The book says “a moderate oven”. The 350°F (175°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.

Prepare

  1. Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C).

  2. Divide the salmon into large flakes.

  3. Butter scallop shells generously and sprinkle with breadcrumbs.

Assemble

  1. Fill the shells with salmon and add 1 to 2 tablespoons of white sauce.

  2. Cover the surface with breadcrumbs and sprinkle lightly with cheese.

  3. Season with salt and pepper, then add 2 to 3 small pieces of butter on top.

Bake and serve

  1. Bake until nicely browned, about 20 minutes, and serve.

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. Butter + cheesetop 8% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together7,962 recipes

    Shared aroma: delta-dodecalactone (sweet, creamy).

  2. Sauce + buttertop 15% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together15,338 recipes

    Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).

  3. Salmon + buttertop 16% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together4,481 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2,6-nonadienal (cucumber, green).

  4. Pepper + cheesetop 18% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together7,861 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).

  5. Sauce + cheesetop 19% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together1,987 recipes

    Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).

Sauce and butter barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 15,338 recipes: they work on texture and structure more than aroma.

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

What each ingredient does

Salmon
Forms the main body of the filling and provides the savoury flavour.
White sauce
Adds moisture and creaminess so the filling stays soft rather than dry.
Breadcrumbs
Form a crisp, golden topping and help absorb moisture from the filling.
Butter
Adds richness and helps the topping brown in the oven.
Grated cheese
Melts and browns on top, adding savoury flavour and colour.

The step that matters

Bake until nicely browned. Baking long enough lets the surface brown and the sauce heat through. Pull it too early and the filling stays cool and wet; leave it too long and the breadcrumbs and cheese can scorch.

“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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