Why it works: Meat and butter are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 16% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 7,594 recipes. Both carry guaiacol, which smells smoky, sweet. The science ↓
Potted Meats
Ingredients
Directions
Remove any fat, skin, and dry parts from the meat.
Cut the meat into small pieces and pound it in a mortar until it forms a smooth paste.
Gradually add cold fresh butter while continuing to pound until well blended.
Season with appropriate spices based on the type of meat used.
Store in a cool place immediately after preparation.
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.
-
Meat + buttertop 16% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together7,594 recipes
Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).
-
Butter + macetop 22% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together11,405 recipes
Shared aroma: linalool (floral, citrus).
-
Meat + macetop 24% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together1,339 recipes
Shared aroma: linalool (floral, citrus).
Butter and mace barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 11,405 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
Swap the mace
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (meat, butter):
- Thymefits better
- Parsleyfits better
- Nutmegfits better
- Macethe original
Fit is the average pairing score against meat, butter. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.
More potted meat recipes
You might also like
Meat Croquettes52 recipes
Meatballs37 recipes
Mince Meat37 recipes
Meat Cakes35 recipesThe 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.