Why it works: Butter and cream are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 8% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 41,516 recipes. Both carry delta-dodecalactone, which smells sweet, creamy. The science ↓
Currie of Cod
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare
If using crimped cod, sprinkle it a day in advance to firm it up.
Cook the curry
Fry the sliced cod with the onion until golden brown.
Stew the cod with a good white gravy, curry powder, butter, flour, cream, salt, and Cayenne if needed.
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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Butter + creamtop 8% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together41,516 recipes
Shared aroma: delta-dodecalactone (sweet, creamy).
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Onion + peppertop 11% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together68,474 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
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Butter + flourtop 12% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together124,287 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Onion + buttertop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together42,912 recipes
Shared aroma: decanal (soap, orange peel).
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Onion + flourtop 17% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together32,460 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
Butter and flour barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 124,287 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
- Sliced cod
- Forms the main body of the dish, becoming flaky and tender when cooked gently.
- Onion
- Frying softens and sweetens it, adding savory depth to the curry base.
- Butter
- Adds fat and richness, carrying flavor through the sauce.
- Flour
- Thickens the white gravy by binding liquid into a smooth, body-rich sauce.
- Rich cream
- Adds richness and a smooth texture that mellows the curry's sharpness.
- Curry powder
- Provides the warm, aromatic spice that defines the dish's flavor.
The step that matters
Stewing the cod gently. Fish proteins toughen and break apart when boiled hard. A gentle simmer keeps the cod tender and in pieces while the sauce thickens.
Swap the onion
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (butter, flour, cream, pepper):
- Spinachfits better
- Leekfits better
- Potatofits better
- Onionthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against butter, flour, cream, pepper. 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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