Why it works: Pepper and butter are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 21% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 85,593 recipes. Both carry trans-2-nonenal, which smells cardboard, fatty. The science ↓
Broiled Cod
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare
Cut slices from a crimped cod about 1 inch thick.
Season the slices with coarse sea salt and black pepper.
Broil and serve
Place the slices between a wire gridiron and broil over a clear fire.
Once done, rub a little butter over each fillet.
Serve very hot in an entree dish.
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 + buttertop 21% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together85,593 recipes
Shared aroma: trans-2-nonenal (cardboard, fatty).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Crimped cod
- Forms the main body of the dish, flaking into moist, tender pieces when cooked.
- Butter
- Adds richness and a glossy finish, carrying flavor over the cooked fish.
The step that matters
Broiling the slices over a clear fire. Cod is lean and cooks quickly, so it can dry out or toughen if overcooked. Watching the heat and removing it once the flesh turns opaque and flakes keeps it moist.
“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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