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 ↓
Corned-beef Hash
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare
Chop the corned beef brisket very fine the night before.
Mix the chopped beef with an equal quantity of warm boiled potatoes.
Moisten the mixture with onion-flavored clear soup.
Place the mixture in the refrigerator until needed.
Serve
The next morning, warm the hash 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.
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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).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Corned beef brisket
- Provides the main meaty body and savory flavor of the hash.
- Boiled potatoes
- Add bulk and a soft, starchy texture that binds the hash together.
- Clear soup
- Adds moisture and onion flavor to keep the hash from drying out.
The step that matters
Chopping the beef very fine. Fine chopping gives the beef a uniform texture and lets it bind evenly with the potatoes. Coarse pieces stay chewy and separate from the potato, so the hash crumbles rather than holding together.
“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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