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Spiced Fish

A fish preserved in a vinegar and spice mixture.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 10 ingredients
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Why it works: Clove and allspice match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 7,874 recipes. Both carry estragole, which smells anise, licorice. The science ↓

Spiced Fish

Ingredients

Directions

Make the spiced liquid

  1. In the upper part of a double boiler, combine vinegar, bay leaf, brown sugar, mace, onion, peppercorns, cloves, allspice, and salt.

  2. Heat directly on the stove until steaming hot, then place over hot water in the lower boiler.

  3. Cover and let stand on a warm part of the stove for 10 minutes.

Pack and rest

  1. Flake the fish into large pieces, discarding skin and bones, and place it in a warmed jar.

  2. Pour the hot liquid over the fish without straining.

  3. Cool, then seal the jar and refrigerate for 24 hours before using.

  4. In cool weather, it will stay good for a week or longer if stored in a cool place.

Recipe from a historical cookbook (Internet Archive).

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.

  1. Clove + allspicetop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together7,874 recipes

    Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).

  2. Mace + clovetop 6% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together8,400 recipes

    Shared aroma: methyleugenol (clove, spice).

  3. Mace + allspicetop 7% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together3,189 recipes

    Shared aroma: methyleugenol (clove, spice).

  4. Onion + clovetop 13% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together16,901 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-nonanone (fruity, floral).

  5. Onion + allspicetop 13% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together4,270 recipes

    Shared aroma: coumarin (sweet, hay).

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

Vinegar
Provides the acidity that preserves the fish and gives it a sharp, tangy flavour.
Fish
Forms the main body of the dish, flaked into large pieces that soak up the spiced pickle.
Brown sugar
Balances the sharpness of the vinegar with a little sweetness and depth.
Peppercorns
Add a sharp, warm spiciness to the pickling liquid.

The step that matters

Pour the hot liquid over the fish without straining. The liquid must be hot so the fish is evenly penetrated and the vinegar and spices can work into it. Straining would remove the spices that give the pickle its flavour, and the sealed jar must be fully cooled before refrigerating to avoid condensation spoiling it.

Swap the onion

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (fish, vinegar, sugar, mace, clove, allspice):

  1. Mustardfits better
  2. Capsicumfits better
  3. Horseradishfits better
  4. Onionthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against fish, vinegar, sugar, mace, clove, allspice. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.

“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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