Why it works: Potato and pepper are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 9% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 8,305 recipes. Both carry 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine, which smells earthy, pea. The science ↓
Baked Salmon
Ingredients
Directions
The book gives no oven temperature. The 350°F (175°C) in the steps was added when the recipe was transcribed, as a starting point.
Prepare
Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C).
Make the mixture
Mash the salmon finely with a fork.
In a bowl, mix the mashed salmon with the beaten eggs.
Add the breadcrumbs or mashed potatoes, and season with salt and pepper.
Bake
Transfer the mixture to a baking dish.
Bake for 1 hour.
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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Potato + peppertop 9% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together8,305 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
-
Salmon + eggtop 16% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together3,485 recipes
Shared aroma: decanal (soap, orange peel).
-
Salmon + potatotop 19% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together952 recipes
Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).
-
Salmon + peppertop 27% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together5,446 recipes
Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).
-
Egg + potatotop 29% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together4,978 recipes
Shared aroma: (e)-2-octenal (fatty, green).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Salmon
- Provides the main body and flavor of the dish.
- Eggs
- Bind the mixture together and help it set when baked.
- Breadcrumbs or cold mashed potatoes
- Absorb moisture and add body so the mixture holds its shape.
Swap the potato
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (salmon, egg, pepper):
- Asparagusfits better
- Chivefits better
- Capsicumfits better
- Potatothe original
Fit is the average pairing score against salmon, egg, 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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