Name: Finnan Haddie
Ingredients: thick and heavy fish (Finnan haddie); cold water; butter; milk; parsley; toast points

Why it works: Butter and milk are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 7% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 81,283 recipes. Both carry (z)-4-heptenal, which smells biscuit, cream. The science ↓

Finnan Haddie

Oven, in the book's wordsA hot oven

Ingredients

Directions

The book says “a hot oven”. The 400°F (200°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.

Soak the fish in cold water for 1 hour, then drain.
To remove the skin, place the fish skin side up in a pan and bake in a 400°F (200°C) oven for 10 to 15 minutes until heated, then lift out and remove the skin.
Alternatively, cover the fish with boiling water in a pan, keep just below boiling for 10 minutes, then drain and remove the skin.
Place the fish on a hot platter and pour over a rich white sauce; garnish with parsley.
If the fish is too salty, soak it in cold water for 1 hour, then drain.
Place the fish in a buttered baking dish, dot with small pieces of butter, and add ¾ cup of milk for each fillet.
Bake in a 350°F (175°C) oven for 15 to 20 minutes until most of the milk is absorbed.
Garnish with parsley and serve with toast points.

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.

Butter + milktop 7% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together81,283 recipes

Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).
Fish + buttertop 12% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together4,488 recipes

Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).
Fish + milktop 13% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together1,432 recipes

Shared aroma: 4-heptenal (creamy, biscuit).
Butter + parsleytop 15% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together28,563 recipes

Shared aroma: trans-2-hexenal (green, leafy).
Fish + parsleytop 18% of all pairs

Smell alikelow

Cooked together2,341 recipes

Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).