Why it works: Pork and pepper are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 16% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 22,121 recipes. Both carry 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine, which smells earthy, pea. The science ↓
Roast Pork
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare the pork
Separate the joints of a middle piece of young pork.
Crack the bones across the middle, keeping the skin intact.
Score the pork parallel to the ribs and wash it.
Season and roast
Place the pork on a spit, adding a little water to the bottom of the roaster.
Rub the pork with salt, sugar, and cayenne pepper.
Do not add flour or baste during cooking to keep the skin crisp.
Make the gravy
Pour the gravy into a pan, skim off some fat, and stir in a little flour mixed with cold water.
Add water and bring to a boil before serving in a gravy tureen.
Adjust seasoning with more pepper or salt if needed.
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.
Photo for illustrative purposes only · Contact us to use it
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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Pork + peppertop 16% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together22,121 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
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Sugar + peppertop 32% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together19,401 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
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Pork + sugartop 37% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together4,579 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).
Sugar and pepper barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 19,401 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
- Young pork
- Provides the meat and skin that become tender inside and crisp outside when roasted.
- Sugar
- Adds sweetness and helps the skin brown as it cooks.
- Coarse sea salt
- Seasons the meat and helps draw out moisture for a more flavorful surface.
- Flour (in the method)
- Thickens the gravy so it becomes smooth and coats the back of a spoon.
The step that matters
Keeping the skin crisp. Adding flour or basting during roasting puts moisture and starch on the skin, which keeps it from crisping. Leave the skin alone until the roast is done.
“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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