Why it works: Lobster and sauce are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 6% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 1,095 recipes. Both carry ethanol, which smells alcoholic, ethereal. The science ↓
Crimped Salmon
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare
Cut the salmon into slices 1.5 to 2 inches thick.
Place the slices in a bowl of strong saltwater for a moment.
Wash the slices well.
Lay the slices on a fish plate.
Cook and serve
Bring a pot of salted water to a fast boil.
Add the salmon slices to the boiling water.
Boil for 10 to 15 minutes until cooked through.
Serve immediately on a napkin with lobster sauce or melted butter.
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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Lobster + saucetop 6% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together1,095 recipes
Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
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Salmon + fishtop 11% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together1,078 recipes
Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).
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Salmon + lobstertop 14% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together313 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,6-nonadienal (cucumber, green).
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Lobster + fishtop 17% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together326 recipes
Shared aroma: 1-octen-3-one (mushroom, metallic).
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Salmon + saucetop 20% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together1,765 recipes
Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Salmon
- Forms the main body of the dish, cooking into firm, flaky flesh when boiled through.
- Salt
- Seasons the fish and the boiling water, adding flavour throughout the slices.
The step that matters
Boil for 10 to 15 minutes until cooked through. Boiling too briefly leaves the centre of the thick slices raw, while overcooking toughens the proteins and dries the flesh. Checking that the thickest part flakes easily helps you hit the right point between the two.
“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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