Why it works: Pepper and parsley match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 2% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 34,122 recipes. Both carry 4'-methylacetophenone, which smells bitter almond. The science ↓
Corn Beef Hash
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare the hash
Chop the corned beef and mixed vegetables together until fine.
Season with a little salt and pepper, then moisten with stock or gravy.
Cook and serve
Heat 1 tablespoon of drippings in a frying pan.
Add the hash and cook until brown.
Cover the top with a plate and quickly turn the hash into it by flipping the frying pan upside down.
Add another tablespoon of drippings to the pan and brown the other side of the hash.
Remove to a hot platter and garnish with pickles or parsley.
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 + parsleytop 2% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together34,122 recipes
Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).
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Beef + peppertop 10% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together18,971 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
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Beef + parsleytop 16% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together5,866 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).
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 body and savory, salty flavor of the hash.
- Mixed vegetables
- Add bulk, moisture and sweetness that balance the rich meat.
- Drippings
- Fat that conducts heat and helps the hash form a crisp, browned crust.
- Stock or gravy
- Adds moisture so the chopped mixture binds and does not dry out while cooking.
The step that matters
Browning the hash in drippings. Browning depends on the surface being fairly dry and the pan being hot enough for Maillard reactions to develop a crust. Adding too much liquid or crowding the pan steams the hash instead, so it stays pale and soft rather than crisp.
Swap the parsley
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (beef, pepper):
- Rosemaryfits about as well
- Parsleythe original
- Marjoramfits about as well
- Celeryfits about as well
Fit is the average pairing score against beef, 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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