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 ↓
To Broil Salmon
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare
Rub the salmon slices dry with a clean cloth and sprinkle with coarse sea salt.
Broil
Place a gridiron over a good fire and rub the bars with lard or butter.
Lay the fish on the gridiron with the skin side down.
When done, place a flat dish on the fish and carefully turn the gridiron over.
Rub the bars again with lard or butter, then slip the fish back onto the gridiron to finish cooking.
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).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Salmon fillet
- Forms the main protein, whose flesh firms and turns opaque as it cooks.
- Lard or butter
- Coats the gridiron bars to prevent sticking and adds richness and light browning.
The step that matters
Turning the fish with the flat dish. Once the first side has set, the flesh holds together better. Turning it carefully with a flat dish supports the fillet so it does not tear or break apart on the grill.
“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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