Why it works: Potato and onion are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 3% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 9,023 recipes. Both carry 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine, which smells earthy, pea. The science ↓
Bkeakfast Hash
Ingredients
Directions
In a skillet, combine the chopped corned beef and potatoes.
Add the chopped onion and butter, mixing well.
Season with salt and pepper to taste.
Fry over medium heat until browned.
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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Potato + oniontop 3% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together9,023 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
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Beef + oniontop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together17,092 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
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Beef + potatotop 8% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together2,052 recipes
Shared aroma: sotolon (curry, maple).
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Potato + peppertop 9% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together8,305 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
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Beef + peppertop 10% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together18,971 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Corned beef
- Provides the main meaty bulk and savory flavor of the hash.
- Potatoes
- Add starchy body, and their surface browns to create crisp, golden bits.
- Onion
- Adds aromatic sweetness that deepens as it cooks in the fat.
- Butter
- Carries heat evenly across the pan and adds richness and browning flavor.
The step that matters
Fry over medium heat until browned. Frying undisturbed lets the potato and meat surfaces brown through the Maillard reaction, which builds flavor and crispness. Too high heat scorches the butter and onion before the centre heats through, while too little heat steams the mixture and leaves it pale and soft.
Swap the onion
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (beef, potato, butter, pepper):
- Onionthe original
- Capsicumfits about as well
- Tomatofits about as well
- Chivefits about as well
Fit is the average pairing score against beef, potato, butter, 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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