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Cream of Fish

A steamed fish custard made with cooked fish, white sauce, eggs, breadcrumbs, and seasonings.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 10 ingredients
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Why it works: Sauce and anchovy 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 ↓

Cream of Fish

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare the fish

  1. Remove all skin and bones from the fish and pound it well with the butter.

  2. Rub the mixture through a wire sieve.

Make the mixture

  1. Mix the fish with the breadcrumbs, anchovy essence, lemon juice, white sauce, and seasonings.

  2. Add the yolks of the eggs, then fold in the stiffly whisked egg whites gently.

Steam and serve

  1. Pour the mixture into a buttered mold, cover with buttered paper, and steam for 1 hour.

  2. Turn out and serve with anchovy 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. Sauce + anchovytop 2% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together2,057 recipes

    Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).

  2. Pepper + lemontop 3% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together27,047 recipes

    Shared aroma: trans-2-nonenal (cardboard, fatty).

  3. Fish + anchovytop 9% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together637 recipes

    Shared aroma: decanal (soap, orange peel).

  4. Fish + buttertop 12% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together4,488 recipes

    Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).

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

Fish
Forms the main body of the dish, giving it its flavor and savory base.
Eggs
Whisked whites add lightness and the yolks help bind the mixture as it sets.
White sauce
Adds moisture and creaminess so the mixture stays tender rather than dry.
Breadcrumbs
Absorb liquid and add body, helping the mixture hold its shape.
Butter
Adds richness and fat, contributing to a smooth texture and flavor.

The step that matters

Folding in the egg whites. Whites hold air only while stiffly whisked, so they must be folded in gently with a light hand. Overmixing deflates the foam, leaving the steamed mold dense rather than light.

“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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