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, then wash them well.
Lay the salmon on a fish plate and bring a pot of salted water to a fast boil.
Cook and serve
Carefully add the salmon to the boiling water and cook for 10 to 15 minutes.
Remove the salmon and dish it on a napkin.
Serve hot with lobster sauce, plain melted butter, or caper fish sauce.
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.
-
Lobster + saucetop 6% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together1,095 recipes
Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
-
Salmon + lobstertop 14% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together313 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,6-nonadienal (cucumber, green).
-
Sauce + buttertop 15% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together15,338 recipes
Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
-
Salmon + buttertop 16% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together4,481 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,6-nonadienal (cucumber, green).
-
Salmon + fish saucetop 17% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together119 recipes
Shared aroma: decanal (soap, orange peel).
Sauce and butter barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 15,338 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
- Salmon
- Forms the main body of the dish, cooking through into firm, flaky flesh in boiling water.
- Coarse sea salt
- Seasons the fish and firms its surface when dissolved in the washing and cooking water.
- Plain melted butter
- Adds richness and fat to the served fish, softening its lean flavour.
The step that matters
Cooking the salmon in boiling water. Adding the fish to water that is not at a fast boil lowers the temperature and can cook it unevenly or let it fall apart. Keeping the water boiling when the salmon goes in helps the slices set quickly and hold their shape.
“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.
You might also like
Lobster Sauce174 recipes
Salmon Salad155 recipes
Salmon Croquettes129 recipes
Fried Fish120 recipesThe free Flavor Lab newsletter: one surprising pairing a week and the molecular reason it works, in 60 seconds. No spam, unsubscribe anytime.
Prefer an account? Create a free account to save pairings and unlock the full chemistry.