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Salmon, Pickled

A salmon fillet cured in a vinegar and spice brine.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 6 ingredients
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Why it works: Pepper and allspice match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 5% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 6,395 recipes. Both carry estragole, which smells anise, licorice. The science ↓

Salmon, Pickled

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare

  1. Remove the bones from the cooked salmon and place it in a clean, deep dish.

Make the pickle

  1. Boil the liquid from the fish and vinegar with the pepper, allspice, salt, and bay leaves for 10 minutes.

  2. Allow the mixture to cool, then pour it over the salmon.

Rest and serve

  1. Let it sit for 12 hours before serving.

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. Pepper + allspicetop 5% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together6,395 recipes

    Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).

  2. Salmon + fishtop 11% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together1,078 recipes

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

  3. Allspice + vinegartop 13% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together4,548 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-methylbutyl acetate (fruit).

  4. Pepper + vinegartop 14% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together27,814 recipes

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

  5. Pepper + fishtop 21% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together3,948 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).

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 dish and absorbs the pickling liquid as it rests.
Vinegar
Provides the acidity that sharpens flavour and helps preserve the fish.
Whole allspice
Adds warm, aromatic spice flavour to the pickling liquid.
Whole pepper
Adds pungent, peppery flavour to the pickling liquid.
Bay leaves
Contribute a subtle herbal aroma to the pickling liquid.

The step that matters

Let the cooled liquid fully cover the salmon before resting. Vinegar acidity firms and seasons the fish as it soaks in. If the liquid is poured over hot, the fish can cook further and break up, and if it is not fully covered, parts of the fish will pickle unevenly.

Swap the allspice

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (salmon, pepper, vinegar, fish):

  1. Dillfits better
  2. Tarragonfits better
  3. Capersfits better
  4. Allspicethe original

Fit is the average pairing score against salmon, pepper, vinegar, fish. 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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