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Fish Gravy

A thickened fish broth made from fish bones, small fish, onion, pepper, salt, sweet herbs, and wine.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 7 ingredients
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Why it works: Onion and pepper are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 11% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 68,474 recipes. Both carry 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine, which smells earthy, pea. The science ↓

Fish Gravy

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare

  1. Remove all bones from the fish and cut off the heads and tails.

Make the gravy

  1. In a pot, combine the fish bones, onion, pepper, salt, sweet herbs, and the small fish.

  2. Stew the mixture until cooked, then strain it.

  3. Thicken the strained liquid to the consistency of cream.

  4. Flavor with a slight addition of wine or another sauce.

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. Onion + peppertop 11% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together68,474 recipes

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

  2. Pepper + winetop 18% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together8,066 recipes

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

  3. Fish + oniontop 19% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together1,924 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).

  4. Onion + winetop 20% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together7,784 recipes

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

  5. Fish + peppertop 21% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together3,948 recipes

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

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

What each ingredient does

Fish bones
Release gelatin and savory flavor into the liquid, giving the gravy body.
Onion
Adds aromatic sweetness and depth to the stock as it stews.
Flounder or eel or any small common fish
Contributes the main fish flavor and meat to the stewed liquid.
Wine or other sauce
Adds acidity and extra flavor to finish the gravy.

The step that matters

Stew the mixture until cooked, then strain it. Over-boiling can make the stock cloudy and bitter, while stopping too early leaves the flavor weak. Straining removes bones and solids so the liquid stays clear and smooth.

Swap the onion

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (fish, pepper, wine):

  1. Tomatofits better
  2. Capsicumfits better
  3. Potatofits better
  4. Onionthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against fish, pepper, wine. 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.

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