Why it works: Lemon and potato are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 12% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 2,230 recipes. Both carry 2-nonenal, which smells fatty, green. The science ↓
Salt Cod
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare the cod
Soak the salt cod in tepid water for 6 hours, then in cold water for another 6 hours, changing the water 3-4 times.
Fill a large saucepan with cold water and bring it to a boil. Skim the water.
Cook and serve
Simmer the cod for a few minutes.
Drain the cod and place it on a dish.
Melt the butter, squeeze in the lemon juice, and pour over the fish.
Garnish with plain boiled potatoes.
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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Lemon + potatotop 12% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together2,230 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
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Butter + potatotop 13% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together6,456 recipes
Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).
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Butter + lemontop 16% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together41,227 recipes
Shared aroma: 3-hexenal (apple, fruity).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Salt cod
- Forms the main body of the dish, its firm flaky flesh holding its shape after soaking and simmering.
- Butter
- Adds richness and a smooth, fatty mouthfeel to the fish.
- Lemon
- Its juice adds acidity that brightens the rich butter and mild fish.
The step that matters
Soaking the salt cod. Salt cod is heavily salted to preserve it, so it must soak long enough and have its water changed to draw out excess salt. Insufficient soaking leaves the fish too salty and tough.
Swap the lemon
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (butter, potato):
- Coconutfits better
- Mangofits about as well
- Plumfits about as well
- Lemonthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against butter, potato. 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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