Why it works: Flour and egg are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 15% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 106,462 recipes. Both carry isobutyraldehyde, which smells malty, green. The science ↓
Pork Pie
Ingredients
Directions
In a large saucepan, combine ½ cup lard and ½ cup cold water. Bring to a boil, watching carefully to prevent it from boiling over.
Cut 1 lb of lean pork into 1-inch square pieces.
In a bowl, add 1 lb of flour.
Once the lard and water are boiling, pour them into the flour and mix well with a spoon.
When the mixture is cool enough, knead it with your hands until it is stiff.
Transfer the dough to a floured board and cut off a quarter of it.
Mold the remaining dough into a basin shape, pressing it inside with one hand and supporting it with the other.
Shape the dough evenly to about ⅓ inch thickness all around.
Flour a knife and cut the top of the dough level all around.
Dip the pork pieces in cold water, then season with pepper and salt.
Place the seasoned pork pieces inside the dough mold as close together as possible.
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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Flour + eggtop 15% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together106,462 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Pork + peppertop 16% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together22,121 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
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Flour + peppertop 19% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together50,459 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Pork + flourtop 27% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together11,187 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Pork + eggtop 30% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together10,387 recipes
Shared aroma: (e,e)-2,4-decadienal (fatty, deep fried).
Flour and egg barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 106,462 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
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