Why it works: Potato and pork are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 5% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 2,668 recipes. Both carry sotolon, which smells curry, maple. The science ↓
Codfish Hash
Ingredients
Directions
In a pot, combine the mashed potatoes, boiled codfish, and fried salt pork.
Stir the mixture together until well combined.
Just before serving, add the milk and mix well.
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 + porktop 5% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together2,668 recipes
Shared aroma: sotolon (curry, maple).
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Potato + milktop 9% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together3,611 recipes
Shared aroma: (e,z)-2,6-nonadienal (cucumber, melon).
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Pork + milktop 12% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together4,386 recipes
Shared aroma: 4-heptenal (creamy, biscuit).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Potatoes
- Provide the starchy bulk and body that hold the hash together.
- Codfish
- Adds the main flavor and tender, flaky protein to the hash.
- Salt pork
- Adds fat and savory flavor, and its crisp pieces add browning and texture.
- Milk
- Adds moisture and softness, making the mixture creamier.
The step that matters
Add the milk just before serving. Potato starch turns gummy when overworked, so mixing the milk in briefly and last keeps the texture light rather than pasty or dense.
“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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