Why it works: Pepper and olive are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 11% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 30,263 recipes. Both carry 2,4-decadienal, which smells seaweed. The science ↓
Fish, Fried
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare
Clean and prepare small fish whole, severing the backbone to prevent curling.
Rub the fish pieces evenly with cornmeal or crumbs.
Fry
Heat plenty of olive oil or drippings in a pan until very hot.
Fry the fish until golden brown, sprinkling lightly with salt and pepper as they cook.
If desired, add a few drops of lemon juice to enhance flavor.
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 + olivetop 11% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together30,263 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).
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Fish + olivetop 14% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together279 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-undecenal (sweet).
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Fish + peppertop 21% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked 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
- Small fish
- Forms the main body of the dish, cooking through in hot fat while staying moist inside.
- Cornmeal or powdered crumbs
- Forms a coating that crisps and browns in the hot fat, giving a crunchy exterior.
- Olive oil or clear drippings or butter
- Conducts heat to the fish and fries the coating, producing browning and crispness.
The step that matters
Heat the fat until very hot before frying. If the fat is not hot enough, the coating absorbs oil and turns greasy instead of crisping. Very hot fat sets the crust quickly, so the fish browns well and absorbs less oil.
“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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