Why it works: Pepper and beef are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 10% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 18,971 recipes. Both carry 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine, which smells earthy, pea. The science ↓
Fried Fish
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare
Clean the fish thoroughly and wipe it dry.
Rub the fish with plenty of coarse sea salt and black pepper.
Let the fish sit for 1-2 hours.
Roll the fish in cornmeal or flour.
Fry
Heat enough fat in a pan until it is boiling hot.
Carefully place the fish in the hot fat, whole or cut into pieces.
Fry until the fish is nicely browned and crispy.
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.
Photo for illustrative purposes only · Contact us to use it
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 + beeftop 10% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together18,971 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
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Fish + beeftop 14% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together226 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-undecenal (sweet).
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Pepper + flourtop 19% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together50,459 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Fish + peppertop 21% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together3,948 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
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Flour + beeftop 25% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together10,677 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
Flour and beef barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 10,677 recipes: they work on texture and structure more than aroma.
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Fish
- Is the main food that gets seasoned, coated and fried until crisp.
- Cornmeal or flour
- Forms a coating that browns and crisps in the hot fat.
- Fat for frying
- Conducts heat to cook the fish and gives it browning and crispness.
- Coarse sea salt
- Seasons the fish and draws out some surface moisture before frying.
The step that matters
Heating the fat until boiling hot. The fat must be very hot before the fish goes in. Hot fat sears the coating quickly, forming a crisp crust that seals in moisture. Cool fat soaks into the coating and makes the fish greasy and soggy.
“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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