Why it works: Sage and lemon match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 2% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 887 recipes. Both carry 3-hexenal, which smells apple, fruity. The science ↓
Baked Salmon
Ingredients
Directions
The book says “a quick oven”. The 400°F (200°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.
Prepare the fish
Rub the salmon inside and out with salt and pepper.
Stuff the fish with buttered bread slices moistened with hot milk or water, adding sage or thyme if desired.
Tie the fish with thread to keep the stuffing in.
Bake
Place muffin rings or a trivet in a dripping pan and put the fish on top.
Dot the fish with butter and dredge with flour.
Add 1 pint of hot water to the pan for basting.
Bake in a 400°F (200°C) oven for 1 hour, basting frequently.
Make the lemon garnish
After removing the fish, fry the lemon slices in the pan, dredge with 1 teaspoon of flour, and add a small bit of butter.
Stir and let it brown slightly without burning.
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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Sage + lemontop 2% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together887 recipes
Shared aroma: 3-hexenal (apple, fruity).
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Pepper + lemontop 3% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together27,047 recipes
Shared aroma: trans-2-nonenal (cardboard, fatty).
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Pepper + sagetop 3% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together5,388 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).
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Bread + buttertop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together27,232 recipes
Shared aroma: delta-decalactone (sweet, creamy).
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Milk + buttertop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together81,283 recipes
Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Salmon
- Is the main protein, cooked gently by baking so it stays moist inside.
- Bread
- Soaks up hot milk or water to form a moist stuffing that fills the cavity.
- Butter
- Adds richness and fat to the topping and helps the surface brown.
- Flour
- Dusted on the fish and pan lemon slices, it helps the surface brown and thicken the pan juices.
The step that matters
Basting frequently during the hour in the oven. Regular basting with the hot water in the pan keeps the surface from drying out, helping the fish stay moist during the long bake.
Swap the sage
The recipe marks sage as optional. How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (salmon, pepper, bread, milk, butter, flour, lemon):
- Parsleyfits better
- Nutmegfits about as well
- Marjoramfits about as well
- Sagethe original
Fit is the average pairing score against salmon, pepper, bread, milk, butter, flour, lemon. 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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