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Salmon Scalloped

A baked dish of flaked salmon topped with breadcrumbs, cheese, and butter.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 7 ingredients
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Why it works: Butter and cheese are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 8% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 7,962 recipes. Both carry delta-dodecalactone, which smells sweet, creamy. The science ↓

Salmon Scalloped

one scallop per person
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. Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C).

  2. Divide the salmon into large flakes.

  3. Butter scallop shells generously and sprinkle with breadcrumbs.

Fill and bake

  1. Fill the shells with salmon, add 1 to 2 tablespoons of white sauce, and cover with breadcrumbs.

  2. Sprinkle lightly with cheese, season with salt and pepper, and add 2 to 3 small pieces of butter on top.

  3. Bake until nicely browned and serve one scallop per person.

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 + cheesetop 8% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together7,962 recipes

    Shared aroma: delta-dodecalactone (sweet, creamy).

  2. Sauce + buttertop 15% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together15,338 recipes

    Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).

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

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

  4. Cheese + peppertop 18% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together7,861 recipes

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

  5. Sauce + cheesetop 19% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together1,987 recipes

    Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).

Sauce and butter barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 15,338 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

Salmon
Forms the main body of the filling and provides the dish's flavour and protein.
White sauce
Adds moisture and creaminess so the filling does not dry out in the oven.
Breadcrumbs
Form a crisp, golden topping and help absorb fat as the dish browns.
Butter
Adds richness and helps the breadcrumbs and top brown evenly.
Grated cheese
Melts and browns on top, adding savoury flavour and a golden crust.

The step that matters

Bake until nicely browned. Baking long enough lets the breadcrumbs and cheese brown and crisp through the Maillard reaction, which builds flavour. Pulling the shells out too early leaves a pale, soft top and a filling that is not heated through.

“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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