Why it works: Butter and cream are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 8% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 41,516 recipes. Both carry delta-dodecalactone, which smells sweet, creamy. The science ↓
Salt Codfish
Ingredients
Directions
Make the roux
Melt the butter in a chafing dish.
Stir in the flour constantly until combined.
Add the cod and cream
Add the soaked codfish and mix well.
Pour in the cream and add pepper.
Let the mixture simmer for 10 minutes, stirring constantly.
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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Butter + creamtop 8% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together41,516 recipes
Shared aroma: delta-dodecalactone (sweet, creamy).
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Butter + flourtop 12% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together124,287 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Flour + peppertop 19% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together50,459 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Flour + creamtop 20% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together30,481 recipes
Shared aroma: acetaldehyde (pungent, ethereal).
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Butter + peppertop 21% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together85,593 recipes
Shared aroma: trans-2-nonenal (cardboard, fatty).
Butter and flour barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 124,287 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
- Butter
- Adds richness and flavor, and forms the fat base for the thickening paste.
- Flour
- Thickens the sauce as its starch swells and sets when heated in the butter and liquid.
- Codfish
- Provides the main body and savory flavor of the dish after soaking.
- Cream
- Adds richness and a smooth, thick texture as it reduces and coats the fish.
The step that matters
Simmer for 10 minutes while stirring constantly. Cream scorches and sticks to the bottom of the pan easily, and the flour's starch needs steady heat and movement to thicken evenly without lumps or burnt flavor.
“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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