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 ↓
Cornish Pasties
Ingredients
Directions
The book gives no oven temperature. The 350°F (175°C) in the steps was added when the recipe was transcribed, as a starting point.
Prepare the pastry
Preheat the oven to 350 °F (175 °C).
In a bowl, combine the flour, salt, and baking powder.
Rub in the dripping until well mixed.
Add enough cold water to form a stiff paste.
Flour a board and roll out the paste to about ¼ inch thick.
Fill and shape
Cut the paste into squares, approximately 6–7 inches wide.
Place a small amount of meat, potatoes, and a sprinkle of onion, salt, and pepper in the center of each square.
Fold the paste over the filling and press the edges to seal.
Grease a baking tin and place the pasties on it.
Bake and serve
Bake in the oven for 30 to 45 minutes until golden brown.
Serve the pasties on a dish.
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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Potato + oniontop 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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Beef + potatotop 8% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together2,052 recipes
Shared aroma: sotolon (curry, maple).
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Potato + peppertop 9% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together8,305 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
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Beef + peppertop 10% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together18,971 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Flour
- Forms the structure of the pastry dough that encloses the filling.
- Dripping
- Adds fat that shortens the pastry, giving it a tender, crumbly texture.
- Baking powder
- Releases gas during baking, helping the pastry rise and lighten.
- Buttock steak or beef skirt
- Provides the savory meat that cooks inside the sealed pastry.
- Potatoes
- Add moisture and body to the filling as they cook through.
The step that matters
Sealing the edges. If the edges are not pressed firmly closed, juices and steam can escape or leak during baking, leaving the filling dry or the pasty open. A tight seal keeps the filling moist and cooking evenly inside the pastry.
Swap the onion
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (beef, potato, flour, pepper):
- Chivefits better
- Carrotfits about as well
- Capsicumfits about as well
- Onionthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against beef, potato, flour, 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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