Why it works: Salmon and butter are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 16% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 4,481 recipes. Both carry 2,6-nonadienal, which smells cucumber, green. The science ↓
Broiled Salmon
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare
Wash the salmon carefully and wipe it dry.
Grease a grill or gridiron and place the salmon on it.
Cook
Cook quickly, constantly turning to brown both sides.
Transfer to a heated dish and pour melted butter over it, seasoned with salt and pepper.
Alternatively, place the salmon in a baking pan with butter, salt, and pepper, skin side up.
Cook for a while, then carefully turn to avoid breaking it.
Brown nicely and serve immediately.
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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Salmon + buttertop 16% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together4,481 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,6-nonadienal (cucumber, green).
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Butter + peppertop 21% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together85,593 recipes
Shared aroma: trans-2-nonenal (cardboard, fatty).
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Salmon + peppertop 27% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together5,446 recipes
Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Salmon
- Forms the main body of the dish, cooked by direct heat until browned and flaked.
- Melted butter
- Adds moisture and richness, and helps the surface brown.
The step that matters
Cook quickly, constantly turning to brown both sides. Turning the fish often and cooking it quickly over direct heat browns the surface before the interior dries out. Carefully turning matters because the flesh is delicate and can break apart when moved.
“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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