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Colcannon

A Scottish dish of mashed potatoes and cabbage mixed with butter, salt, and pepper.

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Why it works: Cabbage and pepper are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 5% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 4,081 recipes. Both carry 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine, which smells earthy, pea. The science ↓

Colcannon

Ingredients

Directions

  1. Melt a piece of butter in a saucepan, allowing approximately 1 ounce per 1 pound of vegetables.

  2. Mix all the ingredients together, heat thoroughly, and serve.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

324Calories
8 gProtein
12 gFat
50 gCarbs

Counts 5 of 6 ingredients. The other 1 aren't in our nutrition table and add nothing above, so the real totals are higher.

What these numbers assume: 5 portions
IngredientPortion assumedkcal
Potato1 medium (173g) baked161
Butter1 tbsp (14g)102
Broccoli1 cup chopped (156g)55
Black Pepper1 tsp ground (2.3g)6
Salt1 tsp (6g)0
Drippingnot in our table0

One typical portion per ingredient; the recipe's quantities are not counted. A rough guide only, not for medical or dietary planning.

Recipe from the Wikibooks Cookbook.

Steps grouped into stages for easier reading; the method is the source's own.

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. Cabbage + peppertop 5% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together4,081 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).

  2. Potato + cabbagetop 9% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together275 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).

  3. Potato + peppertop 9% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together8,305 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).

  4. Butter + potatotop 13% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together6,456 recipes

    Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).

  5. Butter + peppertop 21% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together85,593 recipes

    Shared aroma: trans-2-nonenal (cardboard, fatty).

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

What each ingredient does

Potato
Provides starchy body, so the mixture turns soft and fluffy when mashed together.
Cabbage
Adds moisture and mild sweetness, and gives the dish its texture and color.
Butter
Adds richness and carries flavor through the dish.

Swap the cabbage

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (butter, potato, pepper):

  1. Capsicumfits better
  2. Chivefits better
  3. Onionfits better
  4. Cabbagethe original

Fit is the average pairing score against butter, potato, pepper. 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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