Why it works: Salmon and butter are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 16% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 4,481 recipes. Both carry 2,6-nonadienal, which smells cucumber, green. The science ↓
Grilled Salmon
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare
Rub the salmon slices with salad oil.
If the slices are very thick, wrap them in buttered paper.
Grill
Grill gently, turning every few minutes.
Cook for about 15 minutes until the fish easily separates from the bone.
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 + buttertop 16% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together4,481 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,6-nonadienal (cucumber, green).
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 and turns firm and flaky as its proteins set when cooked.
- Best salad oil
- Coats the fish so it browns lightly and is less likely to stick to the grill.
- Butter
- Wraps thick slices so they stay moist while the centre cooks through.
The step that matters
Grill gently, turning every few minutes. High heat tightens the fish proteins and dries the flesh, while gentle heat keeps it moist. Turning regularly helps the slices cook evenly and keeps them from sticking and tearing on the grill.
“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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