Why it works: Pepper and lemon match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 3% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 27,047 recipes. Both carry trans-2-nonenal, which smells cardboard, fatty. The science ↓
Salmon Pie with Truffles Served Cold
Ingredients
Directions
The book gives no oven temperature. The 350°F (175°C) in the steps was added when the recipe was transcribed, as a starting point.
Prepare the salmon
Remove the skin and bones from the salmon.
Pound the flesh in a mortar, seasoning it with salt, pepper, mace, and nutmeg.
Assemble the pie
Butter a raised pie mold.
Line the mold with raised pie paste and press the paste to take the mold's pattern.
Fill the mold with the seasoned salmon.
Cover the salmon with paste and press the paste closely over the salmon.
Cut a round piece out of the top to form a lid.
Brush the lid with beaten egg.
Bake and serve
Bake at 350°F (175°C) for 1.5 hours.
Remove the pie from the mold and place the pie on a hot dish.
Lift the lid and pour in warmed butter.
Serve with a plate of cut lemons.
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.
-
Pepper + lemontop 3% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together27,047 recipes
Shared aroma: trans-2-nonenal (cardboard, fatty).
-
Mace + nutmegtop 4% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together6,557 recipes
Shared aroma: myristicin (spice, warm).
-
Nutmeg + lemontop 5% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together11,318 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).
-
Pepper + nutmegtop 7% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together13,015 recipes
Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).
-
Pepper + macetop 16% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together12,257 recipes
Shared aroma: myristicin (spice, warm).
Pepper and mace barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 12,257 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 filling, providing the main body and flavour of the pie.
- Butter
- Adds richness and moisture, and is poured in warm to enrich the cooked salmon.
- Raised pie paste
- Forms the sturdy shell that holds the filling and shapes the pie.
- Egg
- Glazed over the lid to promote browning and a glossy finish.
The step that matters
Pressing the paste closely over the salmon. Sealing the paste tightly around the filling keeps the juices in and prevents gaps where moisture can escape during baking, helping the pie hold together when cut.
Swap the mace
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (salmon, pepper, nutmeg, butter, egg, lemon):
- Parsleyfits better
- Tarragonfits better
- Dillfits better
- Macethe original
Fit is the average pairing score against salmon, pepper, nutmeg, butter, egg, lemon. 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.
You might also like
Lemon Sauce236 recipes
Salmon Salad155 recipes
Salmon Croquettes129 recipes
Canned Salmon14 recipesThe free Flavor Lab newsletter: one surprising pairing a week and the molecular reason it works, in 60 seconds. No spam, unsubscribe anytime.
Prefer an account? Create a free account to save pairings and unlock the full chemistry.