Why it works: Pepper and potato are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 9% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 8,305 recipes. Both carry 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine, which smells earthy, pea. The science ↓
Potato Turnovers
Ingredients
Directions
Finely mince the cold roast meat, removing skin and gristle.
Season the mince with coarse sea salt and cayenne pepper, then add chopped pickles.
Mash the cold boiled potatoes and mix with a little flour and beaten eggs to form a paste.
Dredge flour over the paste and roll it out to about the size of a saucer.
Place a small amount of the meat mixture on one half of the round pastry.
Fold the other half over and pinch the edges to seal.
Repeat with the remaining pastry and filling.
Fry the turnovers in hot fat until they are golden brown, about 4 to 5 minutes.
Drain and serve hot.
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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Pepper + potatotop 9% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together8,305 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
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Meat + potatotop 14% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together786 recipes
Shared aroma: 1-octen-3-one (mushroom, metallic).
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Potato + flourtop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together5,355 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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Pepper + flourtop 19% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together50,459 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
Flour and egg barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 106,462 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
Swap the potato
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (meat, pepper, flour, egg):
- Shallotfits better
- Spinachfits better
- Capsicumfits better
- Potatothe original
Fit is the average pairing score against meat, pepper, flour, egg. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.
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