Why it works: Vinegar and turbot work together. They rank in the top 26% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 132 recipes. Both carry ethanol, which smells alcoholic, ethereal. The science ↓
To Boil Turbot
Ingredients
Directions
Poach the fish
In a large pot, combine water, salt, and vinegar.
Bring the mixture to a rapid boil and remove any scum.
Add the turbot to the boiling water.
Keep boiling until the turbot rises from the drainer, indicating it is done.
Serve
Serve garnished with curled parsley and lemon slices.
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.
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Vinegar + turbottop 26% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together132 recipes
Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Turbot
- The main fish, which is cooked gently in the boiling liquid until its flesh is opaque and tender.
- Vinegar
- Adds a light acidity to the poaching liquid, sharpening the flavour of the fish.
- Coarse sea salt
- Seasons the poaching liquid so the fish takes on flavour as it cooks.
The step that matters
Keep boiling until the turbot rises from the drainer. Boiling too long toughens fish protein and dries the flesh, while pulling it too early leaves the center underdone. Watch for the fish to lift from the drainer as the sign it is ready.
“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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