Why it works: Salmon and cheese work together. They rank in the top 10% of all ingredient pairs, and 300 recipes mention both. Both carry 1-octen-3-ol, which smells mushroom, earthy. The science ↓
The recipe
Ingredients
Contains: milk, wheat, fish, shellfish (auto-detected from the ingredients and method; we can miss things, so check labels)
Also mentioned in the method: scallop
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
Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C).
Divide the salmon into large flakes.
Butter scallop shells generously and sprinkle with breadcrumbs.
Assemble
Fill the shells with salmon and add 1 to 2 tablespoons of white sauce.
Cover the surface with breadcrumbs and sprinkle lightly with cheese.
Season with salt and pepper, then add 2 to 3 small pieces of butter on top.
Bake and serve
Bake until nicely browned, about 20 minutes, and serve.
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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Salmon + cheesetop 10% of all pairsAroma overlapmoderateMentioned together300 recipes
Shared aroma: 1-octen-3-ol (mushroom, earthy).
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Butter + cheesetop 3% of all pairsAroma overlapstrongMentioned together7,955 recipes
Shared aroma: delta-dodecalactone (sweet, creamy).
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Salmon + buttertop 7% of all pairsAroma overlapmoderateMentioned together4,472 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,6-nonadienal (cucumber, green).
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Sauce + buttertop 8% of all pairsAroma overlaplowMentioned together15,317 recipes
Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
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Pepper + cheesetop 9% of all pairsAroma overlapstrongMentioned together7,861 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
Sauce and butter share little aroma chemistry, yet 15,317 recipes mention both: they likely 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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