Why it works: Cream and butter are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 8% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 41,516 recipes. Both carry delta-dodecalactone, which smells sweet, creamy. The science ↓
Pot Pie of Beef, Veal, or Chicken
Ingredients
Directions
Make the crust and filling
Peel, boil, and mash a dozen potatoes. Add a teaspoon of salt, two tablespoonfuls of butter, and a half cup of sweet cream or milk. Then stiffen with flour until the mixture can be rolled. Be sure to mash the potatoes finely; run them through a sieve after mashing.
Fry half a dozen slices of salt pork until browned. Cut the pork into pieces and combine with the beef, veal, or chicken. Boil in just enough water to cover them until the meat is nearly done.
Peel another dozen potatoes and slice them thin.
Assemble and bake
Roll the potato crust to a half-inch thickness and cut into oblong pieces.
Assemble the pie by alternating layers of crust, sliced potatoes, and meat. Sprinkle salt and pepper over each layer of meat.
Place the crust on top and bottom of the layers.
Pour the cooking liquid (the liquor the meat was boiled in) over the pie until it covers the whole. Let it simmer until the top crust is baked. If you need more liquid, add boiling liquor or water.
Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)
What these numbers assume: 4 portions
| Ingredient | Portion assumed | kcal |
|---|---|---|
| Potato | 1 medium (173g) baked | 161 |
| Butter | 1 tbsp (14g) | 102 |
| Cream | 1 tbsp (15ml) heavy | 51 |
| Salt | 1 tsp (6g) | 0 |
One typical portion per ingredient; the recipe's quantities are not counted. A rough guide only, not for medical or dietary planning.
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. See the original page.
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.
-
Cream + buttertop 8% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together41,516 recipes
Shared aroma: delta-dodecalactone (sweet, creamy).
-
Butter + potatotop 13% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together6,456 recipes
Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).
-
Cream + potatotop 17% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together2,481 recipes
Shared aroma: 1-octen-3-one (mushroom, metallic).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Potatoes
- Form the bulk of the crust and layers, giving the pie its body.
- Butter
- Adds richness and fat that softens the mashed potato crust.
- Sweet cream
- Adds moisture and richness so the mashed potato mixture can be rolled.
The step that matters
Pour the cooking liquid and simmer until the top crust is baked. The liquid keeps the filling moist and carries flavour from the meat into the layers. Too little liquid can dry the filling and leave the crust underdone, so add boiling liquor or water as needed.
Swap the potato
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (cream, butter):
- Potatothe original
- Onionfits about as well
- Leekfits less well
- Chivefits less well
Fit is the average pairing score against cream, butter. 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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