Why it works: Fish and vinegar are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 26% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 1,036 recipes. Both carry acetoin, which smells butter, cream. The science ↓
To Boil Fish
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare
Clean the fish and add coarse sea salt and vinegar.
Place the fish in cold water and set to boil gently.
Cook
Skim the water carefully to keep the fish looking clean.
For crimped fish, start in boiling water, then add a little cold water to reduce heat.
Simmer the fish for the appropriate time until it leaves the bone.
Remove the fish immediately to prevent it from becoming woolly.
Cover the fish with a clean cloth to keep it warm and maintain its color.
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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Fish + vinegartop 26% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together1,036 recipes
Shared aroma: acetoin (butter, cream).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Small fish
- Is the main ingredient, cooked gently in water until it is tender and flakes from the bone.
- Coarse sea salt
- Seasons the fish and helps firm its flesh during the early stage of cooking.
- Vinegar
- Adds a light acidity that brightens the flavor of the fish.
The step that matters
Remove the fish immediately once cooked. Protein in fish turns firm and dry, then woolly, when it is overcooked. Taking it out as soon as it leaves the bone keeps the flesh moist and tender.
“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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