Why it works: Butter and lemon are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 16% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 41,227 recipes. Both carry 3-hexenal, which smells apple, fruity. The science ↓
Finnan Haddie
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare
Wash the Finnan haddies thoroughly.
Soak them in cold water for 30 minutes.
Then, place them in very hot water for 5 minutes.
Wipe them dry and rub with butter and lemon juice.
Cook
Broil for 15 minutes.
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 + lemontop 16% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together41,227 recipes
Shared aroma: 3-hexenal (apple, fruity).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Finnan haddies
- Smoked haddock is the main protein, providing the flaky texture and smoky flavour of the dish.
- Butter
- Adds fat and richness, helping the surface brown lightly under the broiler.
- Lemon juice
- Adds acidity that brightens the smoky, salty flavour of the fish.
The step that matters
Soaking and hot-water step. Soaking draws out excess salt and smoke from the cured fish, and the brief hot-water step softens it further. Skipping or shortening these steps can leave the fish too salty or tough.
“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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