Stewed Cod

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 + breadtop 7% of all pairs
   Smell alikemoderate
   Cooked together27,232 recipes

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

2. White wine + buttertop 9% of all pairs
   Smell alikemoderate
   Cooked together5,083 recipes

   Shared aroma: ethyl octanoate (fruity, wine).

3. Butter + flourtop 12% of all pairs
   Smell alikelow
   Cooked together124,287 recipes

   Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).

4. Butter + oystertop 12% of all pairs
   Smell alikemoderate
   Cooked together8,184 recipes

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

5. Oyster + breadtop 13% of all pairs
   Smell alikemoderate
   Cooked together2,545 recipes

   Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).

Butter and flour barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 124,287 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

Cod

Forms the main body of the dish, becoming flaky and tender as it cooks.

Butter

Adds richness and a silky mouthfeel to the stewing liquid.

White wine

Adds acidity and aroma, lightly flavouring the stew as it reduces.

Oysters

Contribute briny flavour and their liquor adds savoury depth to the stew.

Flour

Thickens the stewing liquid, giving it body when stirred in.

The step that matters

Swap the mace

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (white wine, butter, oyster, pepper, bread, flour):

1. Parsleyfits better
2. Thymefits better
3. Marjoramfits better
4. Macethe original

Fit is the average pairing score against white wine, butter, oyster, pepper, bread, flour. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.