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 ↓
Salmon Loaf
Ingredients
Directions
The book gives no oven temperature. The 350°F (175°C) in the steps was added when the recipe was transcribed, as a starting point.
Prepare
Drain the liquid from the salmon into a cup and flake the fish with a fork.
In a bowl, combine the salmon, cracker crumbs, egg yolks, melted butter, salt, and pepper.
Gently fold in the beaten egg whites last.
Bake
Pour the mixture into a buttered pan and bake for 30 minutes at 350°F (175°C).
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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Salmon + eggtop 16% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together3,485 recipes
Shared aroma: decanal (soap, orange peel).
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Egg + buttertop 17% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together118,967 recipes
Shared aroma: decanal (soap, orange peel).
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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
- Egg whites
- Whipped whites trap air, giving the loaf a light, airy lift when baked.
- Egg yolks
- Yolks bind the salmon and crumbs together and add richness and a set structure.
- Cracker crumbs
- Crumbs absorb moisture and help hold the loaf together while it bakes.
- Melted butter
- Butter adds fat for moisture and a tender texture in the baked loaf.
The step that matters
Gently fold in the beaten egg whites. Stirring or beating the whites back in deflates the air bubbles they hold, so the loaf bakes up dense instead of light and airy.
“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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