Why it works: Fish and vinegar are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 26% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 1,036 recipes. Both carry acetoin, which smells butter, cream. The science ↓
To Boil Fish
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare and cook
Clean and rinse the fish.
Wrap the fish in a cloth and place it in a kettle with cold water.
Add a little coarse sea salt and boil slowly but constantly.
Ensure the water always covers the fish and remove any scum that rises.
Add a little vinegar when the fish is nearly done.
The fish is done when the flesh separates from the backbone with a thin knife.
Be careful not to overcook the fish.
Drain and serve
Drain the fish on a sieve, keeping it hot.
Carefully lay the fish on a platter to avoid breaking it.
Serve with drawn butter sauce.
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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Fish + vinegartop 26% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together1,036 recipes
Shared aroma: acetoin (butter, cream).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Fish
- Forms the main body of the dish, its flesh turning opaque and flaking when cooked.
- Coarse sea salt
- Seasons the poaching water so the fish flesh is lightly seasoned.
- Vinegar
- Adds a faint sharpness that brightens the mild flavour of the fish.
The step that matters
Avoid overcooking the fish. Fish proteins tighten and dry out once past done, so the flesh turns tough and grainy. Poaching gently and testing with a knife keeps it moist and tender.
“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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