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Salmon Pie

A baked salmon and potato mixture topped with breadcrumbs and butter.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 10 ingredients
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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 ↓

Salmon Pie

Oven, in the book's wordsA moderate oven

Ingredients

Directions

The book says “a moderate oven”. The 350°F (175°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.

Prepare

  1. Remove skin and bones from the salmon and chop it coarsely.

  2. In a bowl, combine the salmon, mashed potatoes, white breadcrumbs, and oiled butter.

  3. Season with coarse sea salt and black pepper, then stir in the egg.

  4. Add enough milk to form a stiff batter.

Bake and serve

  1. Grease a baking dish or pie dish and pour in the salmon mixture.

  2. Sprinkle the top with red panurette or browned breadcrumbs and add small bits of butter.

  3. Bake in a 350°F (175°C) oven for about 1 hour, or until set.

  4. Serve hot or reheat before serving.

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.

  1. Butter + milktop 7% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together81,283 recipes

    Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).

  2. Potato + peppertop 9% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together8,305 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).

  3. Potato + milktop 9% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together3,611 recipes

    Shared aroma: (e,z)-2,6-nonadienal (cucumber, melon).

  4. Potato + buttertop 13% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together6,456 recipes

    Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).

  5. Salmon + buttertop 16% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together4,481 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2,6-nonadienal (cucumber, green).

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

Salmon
Forms the main body of the pie and provides its flavour and protein structure.
Egg
Binds the mixture and helps it set firm when baked.
Mashed potatoes
Adds body and moisture, giving the filling a softer, less crumbly texture.
White breadcrumbs
Absorb moisture and help the mixture hold together as a stiff batter.
Milk
Loosens the mixture into a stiff batter and adds moisture to the filling.

The step that matters

Bake until set. Egg proteins coagulate as the pie heats, so the filling firms up only when fully baked. Pulling it early leaves a loose, wet centre that will not hold a slice.

Swap the potato

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (salmon, butter, egg, milk, pepper):

  1. Potatothe original
  2. Asparagusfits about as well
  3. Capsicumfits about as well
  4. Chivefits about as well

Fit is the average pairing score against salmon, butter, egg, milk, pepper. 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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