Why it works: Salmon and cucumber work together. They rank in the top 11% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 513 recipes. Both carry 2,6-nonadienal, which smells cucumber, green. The science ↓
Boiled Salmon
Ingredients
Directions
Boil the salmon until cooked through.
Prepare the shrimp sauce separately.
Serve the salmon with shrimp sauce and sliced cucumber.
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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Salmon + cucumbertop 11% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together513 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,6-nonadienal (cucumber, green).
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Salmon + shrimptop 13% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together819 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,6-nonadienal (cucumber, green).
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Shrimp + saucetop 16% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together1,423 recipes
Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
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Shrimp + cucumbertop 17% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together386 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,6-nonadienal (cucumber, green).
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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
- Is the main protein, cooked through by boiling until it turns firm and flaky.
- Shrimp sauce
- Adds savory, briny flavor that complements the salmon.
- Cucumber
- Adds cool, crisp texture and fresh contrast to the rich fish.
The step that matters
Boil the salmon until cooked through. Salmon overcooks quickly, and past the point of doneness the proteins tighten and the flesh turns dry and chalky. Checking for doneness so it is just cooked through keeps it moist and tender.
Swap the cucumber
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (salmon, shrimp, sauce):
- Chivefits better
- Asparagusfits about as well
- Horseradishfits about as well
- Cucumberthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against salmon, shrimp, sauce. 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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