Baked Halibut or Salmon

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. Ketchup + saucetop 1% of all pairs
   Smell alikestrong
   Cooked together1,099 recipes

   Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).

2. Lemon + parsleytop 1% of all pairs
   Smell alikestrong
   Cooked together14,037 recipes

   Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).

3. Butter + flourtop 12% of all pairs
   Smell alikelow
   Cooked together124,287 recipes

   Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).

4. Flour + parsleytop 12% of all pairs
   Smell alikemoderate
   Cooked together16,675 recipes

   Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).

5. Ketchup + flourtop 13% of all pairs
   Smell alikemoderate
   Cooked together2,435 recipes

   Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).

Butter and flour 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

Whole halibut or salmon

Forms the main body of the dish, cooked gently by baking until flaky.

Butter

Adds richness and helps the top brown nicely when spread over the fish near the end.

Brown flour

Thickens the sauce so it clings to the fish instead of running thin.

Lemon juice

Adds acidity that brightens the sauce and balances its richness.

Ketchup

Contributes sweetness and tomato acidity to the sauce.

The step that matters

Swap the currant

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (salmon, butter, ketchup, sauce, lemon, flour, parsley):

1. Limefits better
2. Avocadofits better
3. Orangefits better
4. Currantthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against salmon, butter, ketchup, sauce, lemon, flour, parsley. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.