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
In a frying pan, combine the corned beef, onions, potatoes, water, and pepper.
Cook over medium heat for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Just before removing from heat, stir in the 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 and savory salted flavor that defines the hash.
- Potatoes
- Supply starch that thickens the mixture and gives the hash its body.
- Onions
- Add sweetness and aroma as they soften and brown during cooking.
- Egg yolks
- Add richness and help bind the hash as they set with the heat.
The step that matters
Just before removing from heat, stir in the nutmeg and egg yolks.. Egg yolks set when heated, so adding them near the end binds the hash lightly without scrambling into curds. Cooking them too long makes the texture dry and grainy.
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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