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Cabbage

A mash of boiled potatoes and cabbage cooked with butter, pork fat, salt, and pepper.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 6 ingredients
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Why it works: Pork and potato are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 5% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 2,668 recipes. Both carry sotolon, which smells curry, maple. The science ↓

Cabbage

Ingredients

Directions

  1. Boil the potatoes until done, then drain and mash them well.

  2. In a pan, combine the mashed potatoes, 1 tablespoon of butter, chopped cabbage, salt, and pepper.

  3. Stir over heat until hot.

  4. Alternatively, heat 1 quart of cold cabbage with 1 tablespoon of drippings and 2 tablespoons of vinegar.

Recipe from a historical cookbook (Internet Archive).

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.

  1. Pork + potatotop 5% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together2,668 recipes

    Shared aroma: sotolon (curry, maple).

  2. Cabbage + peppertop 5% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together4,081 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).

  3. Cabbage + potatotop 9% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together275 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).

  4. Potato + peppertop 9% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together8,305 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).

  5. Potato + buttertop 13% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together6,456 recipes

    Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

Potatoes
Provide the bulk and starchy body that holds the mash together.
Cabbage
Adds bulk and a mild, sweet flavour as it heats through.
Butter
Adds richness and flavour, and helps the mash feel smooth and moist.

The step that matters

Drain and mash the potatoes well. Any water left in the potatoes thins the mash, and unmashed lumps spoil its smooth texture. Potato starch turns gluey if it is overworked, so mash just until smooth.

Swap the cabbage

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (pork, potato, butter, pepper):

  1. Capsicumfits better
  2. Onionfits better
  3. Asparagusfits better
  4. Cabbagethe original

Fit is the average pairing score against pork, potato, butter, 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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