Name: Pork Loaf
Ingredients: 1½ pounds fresh pork, ground; 16 soda crackers, crushed; 4 eggs; 1 onion, chopped; 1 teaspoon nutmeg; 1 teaspoon salt; 1 cup hot water

Why it works: Pork and onion are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 10% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 18,214 recipes. Both carry 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine, which smells earthy, pea. The science ↓

Pork Loaf

Oven, in the book's wordsA moderate oven

Ingredients

Directions

The book says “a moderate oven”. The 350°F (175°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.

Prepare

Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C).

Make and bake the loaf

In a large bowl, combine the ground pork, crushed soda crackers, eggs, chopped onion, nutmeg, salt, and hot water, and mix well until all ingredients are combined.
Shape the mixture into a loaf and place it in a roasting pan.
Cover the loaf and bake for about 45 minutes.

Recipe from a historical cookbook (Internet Archive).

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.

Pork + oniontop 10% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together18,214 recipes

Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
Onion + nutmegtop 16% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together5,371 recipes

Shared aroma: acetic acid (sour, vinegar).
Egg + nutmegtop 17% of all pairs

Smell alikelow

Cooked together24,744 recipes

Shared aroma: acetic acid (sour, vinegar).
Pork + nutmegtop 18% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together2,825 recipes

Shared aroma: myrcene (balsamic, herbaceous).
Pork + eggtop 30% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together10,387 recipes

Shared aroma: (e,e)-2,4-decadienal (fatty, deep fried).

Egg and nutmeg barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 24,744 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

Fresh pork: Provides the meat base and fat that give the loaf its savory flavor and juiciness.
Soda crackers: Absorb liquid and bind with the meat, helping the loaf hold its shape and stay moist.
Eggs: Bind the mixture as they set during baking, giving the loaf structure.
Onion: Adds moisture and savory aroma as it softens during baking.