Why it works: Potato and onion 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 ↓
Baked Nutmeato Hash
Ingredients
Directions
The book says “a moderate oven”. The 350°F (175°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.
Prepare
Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C).
In an oiled baking dish, combine the chopped potatoes, nutmeato, grated onion, and salt.
Add the water and mix well.
Bake and serve
Bake for 30 minutes until heated through.
If desired, sprinkle with celery salt 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.
-
Potato + oniontop 3% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together9,023 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
-
Potato + celerytop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together2,047 recipes
Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).
-
Onion + celerytop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together18,518 recipes
Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Cold boiled potatoes
- Starch gives the hash its body and helps it hold together as it bakes.
- Nutmeato
- Supplies the main savory, chewy bulk of the dish in place of meat.
- Onion
- Adds savory aroma and a little sweetness as it bakes.
The step that matters
Bake until heated through. The ingredients are already cooked, so baking mainly heats the mixture through and lightly browns the surface. Check that the centre is hot, because a dish that is only warm on the outside will taste underheated.
Swap the celery
The recipe marks celery as optional. How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (potato, onion):
- Garlicfits better
- Thymefits better
- Parsleyfits about as well
- Celerythe original
Fit is the average pairing score against potato, onion. 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.
You might also like
The free Flavor Lab newsletter: one surprising pairing a week and the molecular reason it works, in 60 seconds. No spam, unsubscribe anytime.
Prefer an account? Create a free account to save pairings and unlock the full chemistry.
Potato Croquettes255 recipes
Cream of Celery Soup113 recipes
Potato Rolls78 recipes
Potato Chips53 recipes