Why it works: Pepper and parsley match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 2% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 34,122 recipes. Both carry 4'-methylacetophenone, which smells bitter almond. The science ↓
Salt Mackerel with Cream Sauce
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare the fish
Soak the mackerel overnight in lukewarm water, then change to ice-cold water in the morning.
Remove all salt and wipe the fish dry.
Grease a grill with butter and rub the fish on both sides with melted butter.
Broil the fish quickly over a clear fire, turning gently to avoid breaking it.
Place the fish on a hot water dish and cover while preparing the sauce.
Make the cream sauce
Heat the milk until scalding.
Mix corn starch with a little water, then stir it into the hot milk until thickened.
Add butter, salt, pepper, and chopped parsley to the thickened milk.
Beat the egg lightly, then gradually pour the sauce over it, stirring continuously.
Return the mixture to the heat and stir for one minute.
Serve
Pour the sauce over the fish and keep covered over hot water until serving.
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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Pepper + parsleytop 2% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together34,122 recipes
Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).
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Butter + milktop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together81,283 recipes
Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).
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Milk + corntop 10% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together6,955 recipes
Shared aroma: hexanal (green, grassy).
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Corn + peppertop 11% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together5,324 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
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Corn + parsleytop 12% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together943 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Mackerel
- The main fish, whose salt-soaking firms and seasons the flesh before broiling.
- Egg
- Thickens the sauce with its proteins as it gently heats, adding richness and body.
- Corn starch
- Thickens the hot milk into a smooth sauce as its starch swells with heat.
- Milk
- Forms the base of the sauce, adding creaminess and body.
- Butter
- Adds fat for richness and flavour, and helps brown the fish on the grill.
The step that matters
Adding the egg to the sauce. Pouring hot sauce slowly into the beaten egg while stirring tempers it, so the egg warms gradually instead of scrambling. The sauce is then returned to heat only briefly to thicken the egg without curdling.
Swap the parsley
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (butter, milk, corn, pepper, egg):
- Nutmegfits about as well
- Cinnamonfits about as well
- Parsleythe original
- Tarragonfits about as well
Fit is the average pairing score against butter, milk, corn, pepper, egg. 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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