Name: On Boiling Fish
Ingredients: fish of considerable size or thickness; cold water; salt; vinegar; horse-radish

Why it works: Horse and radish work together. They rank in the top 4% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 529 recipes. Both carry 2-methylbutyraldehyde, which smells malty, chocolate. The science ↓

On Boiling Fish

Ingredients

Directions

Place the fish in a pot of cold water.
When the water begins to boil, add a small amount of cold water to reduce the boiling.
Keep the kettle covered but remove the lid occasionally to skim off any scum.
Once cooked, lift the fish gently and allow it to drain.
Place the fish on a fish-drainer and cover with a clean napkin.
Serve immediately to maintain firmness and crispness.

Recipe from a historical cookbook (Internet Archive).

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.

Horse + radishtop 4% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together529 recipes

Shared aroma: 2-methylbutyraldehyde (malty, chocolate).
Vinegar + radishtop 8% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together508 recipes

Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
Fish + horsetop 13% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together63 recipes

Shared aroma: decanal (soap, orange peel).
Vinegar + horsetop 19% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together331 recipes

Shared aroma: acetic acid (sour, vinegar).
Fish + radishtop 22% of all pairs

Smell alikelow

Cooked together65 recipes

Shared aroma: trans-2-hexenal (green, leafy).