Why it works: Butter and flour are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 12% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 124,287 recipes. Both carry isobutyraldehyde, which smells malty, green. The science ↓
Hash on Toast
Ingredients
Directions
Make the hash
In a skillet, melt the butter over medium heat.
Add the chopped beefsteak and water, cooking until heated through.
Stir in the flour to thicken the mixture.
Serve
Moisten the toast with hot water and place on a platter.
Pour the beef mixture over the toast and season with salt.
Garnish with sliced hard‑boiled eggs.
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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Butter + flourtop 12% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together124,287 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Flour + eggtop 15% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together106,462 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Butter + eggtop 17% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together118,967 recipes
Shared aroma: decanal (soap, orange peel).
Butter and flour barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 124,287 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
- Beefsteak
- Provides the meaty base of the hash, cooked until heated through.
- Butter
- Adds fat and richness to the skillet and carries flavor into the mixture.
- Flour
- Thickens the cooking liquid so the hash holds together on the toast.
- Toast
- Gives a crisp, absorbent base that the hot beef mixture is spooned over.
The step that matters
Stir in the flour to thicken the mixture. Flour must be cooked with the fat and liquid long enough to swell and thicken; stirring it in evenly prevents lumps and a raw floury taste.
“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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