Why it works: Vinegar and clove are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 15% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 10,386 recipes. Both carry isobutyraldehyde, which smells malty, green. The science ↓
Baked Herrings
Ingredients
Directions
The book says “a moderate oven”. The 350°F (175°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.
Prepare
Cut the herrings open and clean them; remove the heads, fins, and tails, and scrape off the scales.
Do not wash fresh herrings; instead, wipe them well.
Split each herring in half, remove the center bone, and sprinkle a little seasoning inside.
Roll each piece up neatly.
Bake and serve
Place the rolled herrings in a pie dish with all the other ingredients.
Cover the dish with greased paper or a plate and bake at 350°F (175°C) for about 30 minutes.
Serve hot or cold.
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 + clovetop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together10,386 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Herrings
- Provide the main body of the dish, cooking into tender, flaky flesh.
- Vinegar
- Adds acidity that sharpens the flavour and helps firm the fish as it cooks.
The step that matters
Rolling and packing the herring. Rolled pieces should be wrapped snugly and packed closely so they hold their shape and cook evenly in the covered dish, instead of unrolling or drying at the edges.
“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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