Why it works: Clove and allspice match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 7,874 recipes. Both carry estragole, which smells anise, licorice. The science ↓
Pickled or Soused Shad
Ingredients
Directions
Poach the fish
Fill a fish kettle with water to cover the fish and bring it to a boil.
Add 1 cup of coarse sea salt to the boiling water.
Place the fish on a drainer in the kettle and boil for about 30 minutes, depending on the size of the fish.
Remove the fish, drain it thoroughly, and let it cool.
Spice the liquid
In the same water used for boiling, add whole cloves, allspice, mace, and the red pepper pod.
Boil the mixture until the water is strongly flavored with the spices.
Pickle and store
Cut the fish into large pieces and place them in a stone crock.
Mix equal parts of strong vinegar and the spiced liquid, then pour it over the fish until fully covered.
Cover the crock with a cloth and place the lid on it.
Store in a cool place for 1 to 2 days before using.
It will keep for a fortnight if the fish remains covered by the liquid.
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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Clove + allspicetop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together7,874 recipes
Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).
-
Clove + peppertop 5% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together17,451 recipes
Shared aroma: ethyl octanoate (fruity, wine).
-
Allspice + peppertop 5% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together6,395 recipes
Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).
-
Clove + macetop 6% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together8,400 recipes
Shared aroma: methyleugenol (clove, spice).
-
Allspice + macetop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together3,189 recipes
Shared aroma: methyleugenol (clove, spice).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Shad (in the method)
- Is the main fish that is poached, then softened and preserved in the vinegar brine.
- Coarse sea salt
- Seasons the poaching water and firms the fish's flesh while it cooks.
- Strong vinegar
- Acidifies the liquid, sharpening flavour and helping preserve the fish.
- Whole cloves
- Add warm, aromatic spice flavour to the poaching liquid that carries into the fish.
- Whole allspice
- Adds warm, aromatic spice flavour to the spiced liquid.
The step that matters
Keep the fish fully covered in the liquid. Fish exposed to air can spoil and dry out. Keeping every piece submerged in the vinegar and spiced liquid protects it from air and microbes during storage.
Swap the mace
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (fish, clove, allspice, pepper, vinegar):
- Cinnamonfits better
- Thymefits better
- Marjoramfits better
- Macethe original
Fit is the average pairing score against fish, clove, allspice, pepper, vinegar. 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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