Why it works: Onion and potato 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 ↓
Corned Beef Hash
Ingredients
Directions
Combine corned beef, onions, grated potatoes, water, and black pepper in a frying pan.
Cook over medium heat for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Just before removing from heat, stir in the grated nutmeg and egg yolks.
Ensure the mixture is almost dry before serving.
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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Onion + potatotop 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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Pepper + nutmegtop 7% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together13,015 recipes
Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).
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Beef + potatotop 8% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together2,052 recipes
Shared aroma: sotolon (curry, maple).
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Potato + nutmegtop 8% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together1,052 recipes
Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).
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 meat flavour and the bulk of the hash.
- Potatoes
- Grated starch that thickens the mixture and helps bind it as it cooks.
- Onions
- Add sweetness and savoury depth as they soften and brown during cooking.
- Egg yolks
- Stirred in near the end to enrich the mixture and help bind it.
The step that matters
Ensure the mixture is almost dry before serving. Excess water left in the hash keeps it wet and soft rather than letting the potatoes and onions set and develop a cohesive texture. Cooking off the liquid lets the starch thicken and the surface brown slightly.
Swap the nutmeg
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (beef, onion, potato, pepper, egg):
- Garlicfits better
- Parsleyfits better
- Thymefits better
- Nutmegthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against beef, onion, potato, pepper, egg. 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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