Why it works: Milk and bread are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 11% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 11,466 recipes. Both carry 2-undecenal, which smells sweet. The science ↓
Codfish Toast
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare the fish
Shred the codfish into fine pieces and soak in cold water until fresh.
Drain the fish well and mix in flour, sweet cream (or butter), and milk.
Make the sauce
Season with pepper and heat slowly, stirring well until scalded.
Remove from heat and quickly stir in the beaten egg.
Serve
Prepare a nice, moist toast, season it well, and pour the fish mixture over it.
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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Milk + breadtop 11% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together11,466 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-undecenal (sweet).
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Egg + breadtop 13% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together22,662 recipes
Shared aroma: (e)-2-octenal (fatty, green).
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Flour + milktop 14% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together78,219 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Flour + eggtop 15% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together106,462 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Pepper + breadtop 16% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together20,964 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
Flour and milk barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 78,219 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
- Codfish
- Forms the main body of the dish, providing savory flavor and a flaky texture.
- Flour
- Thickens the milk and cream mixture so it clings to the fish and toast.
- Milk
- Makes up the liquid base, adding creaminess as it is heated.
- Egg
- Sets with gentle heat and thickens the mixture, giving it a richer body.
The step that matters
Stir in the beaten egg off the heat. Egg proteins set and can curdle or turn grainy when exposed to high heat. Removing the pan from the heat first and stirring quickly lets the egg thicken the mixture smoothly.
“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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