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Salmon Mould

A steamed salmon mixture of boiled salmon, parsley, breadcrumbs, eggs, butter, and seasonings set in a mold.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 8 ingredients
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Why it works: Anchovy and sauce are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 2% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 2,057 recipes. Both carry ethanol, which smells alcoholic, ethereal. The science ↓

Salmon Mould

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare the mixture

  1. Break the salmon into small pieces using a fork.

  2. Add chopped parsley, breadcrumbs, eggs, butter, salt, cayenne pepper, and anchovy sauce (if using) and mix until smooth.

Steam and serve

  1. Transfer the mixture into a buttered mold.

  2. Steam for 45 minutes.

  3. Turn out onto a serving plate.

  4. Pour melted butter flavored with anchovy sauce around the salmon mold and garnish with chopped parsley.

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. Anchovy + saucetop 2% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together2,057 recipes

    Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).

  2. Parsley + peppertop 2% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together34,122 recipes

    Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).

  3. Salmon + anchovytop 11% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together535 recipes

    Shared aroma: decanal (soap, orange peel).

  4. Egg + anchovytop 12% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together2,330 recipes

    Shared aroma: decanal (soap, orange peel).

  5. Butter + anchovytop 13% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together3,697 recipes

    Shared aroma: decanal (soap, orange peel).

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

What each ingredient does

Salmon
Forms the body of the mould and provides the main flavour and flaky texture.
Eggs
Bind the salmon and set during steaming so the mould holds its shape when turned out.
Breadcrumbs
Absorb moisture and help give the mould a soft, tender structure.
Butter
Adds richness and moisture to the mixture.

The step that matters

Turn out onto a serving plate. Once steamed, the egg-set mixture is delicate; the mould should be left to firm briefly, then turned out gently so it keeps its shape.

Swap the parsley

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (salmon, egg, butter, pepper, anchovy, sauce):

  1. Capersfits better
  2. Parsleythe original
  3. Tarragonfits less well
  4. Nutmegfits less well

Fit is the average pairing score against salmon, egg, butter, pepper, anchovy, sauce. 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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