Name: Beef or Mutton Hash
Ingredients: 1 cup cooked beef or mutton, cut into small pieces; 1 cup cooked potatoes, cut into small pieces; Gravy, to taste; Salt, to taste; Pepper, to taste

Why it works: Beef and potato are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 8% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 2,052 recipes. Both carry sotolon, which smells curry, maple. The science ↓

Beef or Mutton Hash

Ingredients

1 cup cooked beef or mutton, cut into small pieces
1 cup cooked potatoes, cut into small pieces
Gravy, to taste
Salt, to taste
Pepper, to taste

Directions

Combine the meat and potatoes in a bowl.
Add gravy, salt, and pepper to the mixture.
Heat the mixture thoroughly in a pan over medium heat.

Recipe from a historical cookbook (Internet Archive).

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.

Beef + potatotop 8% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together2,052 recipes

Shared aroma: sotolon (curry, maple).
Potato + peppertop 9% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together8,305 recipes

Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
Beef + peppertop 10% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked 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

Cooked beef or mutton: Provides the main savoury, meaty body and chewy texture of the hash.
Cooked potatoes: Adds bulk and a soft, starchy texture that holds the hash together.
Gravy: Adds moisture and savoury flavour so the mixture does not dry out when heated.