Why it works: Fish and lemon are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 15% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 1,889 recipes. Both carry 2-nonenal, which smells fatty, green. The science ↓
On Boiling Fish
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare
Clean and wipe the fish thoroughly.
Rub the fish with vinegar or lemon juice.
Place the fish on a drainer in a fish kettle.
Poach
Cover the fish with boiling water.
Add 2 teaspoons of vinegar to the water.
Boil for 3 to 5 minutes, then reduce heat to simmer.
Skim off any scum that rises.
Cook for about 10 minutes per pound, testing with a skewer until the flesh parts easily from the bone.
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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Fish + lemontop 15% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together1,889 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
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Vinegar + lemontop 20% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together7,334 recipes
Shared aroma: acetic acid (sour, vinegar).
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Fish + vinegartop 26% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together1,036 recipes
Shared aroma: acetoin (butter, cream).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Whole fish
- Forms the main body of the dish, cooked gently in simmering liquid until the flesh turns opaque and flakes.
- Vinegar
- Adds a sharp acidity that brightens the flavour of the fish and helps keep the flesh firm.
- Lemon juice
- Adds bright acidity to the fish's surface, lifting its flavour.
The step that matters
Testing for doneness with a skewer. Fish cooks quickly and becomes dry and tough once overcooked. Checking whether the flesh parts easily from the bone shows when it is done, rather than relying only on the time per pound.
“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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