Why it works: Pepper and tomato are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 7% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 17,923 recipes. Both carry 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine, which smells earthy, pea. The science ↓
Baked Fish
Ingredients
Directions
The book gives no oven temperature. The 350°F (175°C) in the steps was added when the recipe was transcribed, as a starting point.
Prepare the fish
Clean the fish thoroughly.
Rub the fish inside and out with salt and pepper.
Dredge the fish with flour.
Bake
Place the fish in a baking pan.
Cut the butter and lard into small pieces and spread over the top of the fish.
Pour the tomatoes over the fish.
Season the tomatoes after pouring them over the fish.
Bake at 350°F (175°C) for two hours, basting occasionally.
Serve
Carefully transfer the fish to a platter and place the tomatoes on top.
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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Pepper + tomatotop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together17,923 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
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Fish + buttertop 12% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together4,488 recipes
Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).
-
Flour + buttertop 12% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together124,287 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Fish + tomatotop 16% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together213 recipes
Shared aroma: 1-hepten-3-one (metal).
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Pepper + flourtop 19% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together50,459 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
Flour and butter barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 124,287 recipes: they work on texture and structure more than aroma.
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, cooked gently in its own juices and the tomatoes.
- Flour
- Coats the fish surface, helping it brown and giving the sauce some body.
- Butter
- Adds fat that enriches flavour and helps the top of the fish brown.
- Lard
- Adds fat that keeps the fish moist and adds richness during baking.
- Tomatoes
- Provide moisture and acidity that form a sauce around the fish as it bakes.
The step that matters
Bake at 350°F (175°C) for two hours, basting occasionally. Basting spreads the fat and tomato liquid over the fish, keeping the surface moist while it cooks through. Fish cooked too long dries out and turns tough, so the time needs watching.
Swap the tomato
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (fish, pepper, flour, butter):
- Shallotfits better
- Potatofits better
- Capsicumfits better
- Tomatothe original
Fit is the average pairing score against fish, pepper, flour, butter. 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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