Why it works: Pork and sage are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 12% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 2,527 recipes. Both carry 2-hexenal, which smells green, leafy. The science ↓
Roast Pork
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
Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C).
For added flavor, sprinkle the roast with coarse sea salt an hour or two before cooking.
If the skin is left on, cut it into squares; if removed, sprinkle with pounded sage and cover with buttered paper.
Position the meat far from the fire to ensure thorough cooking.
Roast and serve
Roast for 20 minutes per pound, basting initially with butter and then with its own drippings.
Serve with cabbage cooked with a little vinegar or with sauerkraut.
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.
Photo for illustrative purposes only · Contact us to use it
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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Pork + sagetop 12% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together2,527 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-hexenal (green, leafy).
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Sage + cabbagetop 13% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together38 recipes
Shared aroma: 3-hexenal (apple, fruity).
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Cabbage + vinegartop 13% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together2,924 recipes
Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).
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Pork + buttertop 13% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together13,933 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-furfurylthiol (coffee, roasted).
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Pork + cabbagetop 16% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together919 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
- Pork
- Forms the main body of the dish, becoming tender and juicy as it cooks slowly.
- Sage stuffing
- Adds savory, aromatic flavor that complements the rich pork.
- Butter
- Adds fat for basting, promoting browning and a rich flavor on the surface.
- Coarse sea salt
- Seasons the meat deeply and helps flavor the surface before roasting.
The step that matters
Position the meat far from the fire. Placing the meat away from direct heat lets it cook through gently, so the outside does not scorch before the centre is done.
Swap the cabbage
The recipe marks cabbage as optional. How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (pork, sage, butter, vinegar):
- Mustardfits better
- Potatofits better
- Capsicumfits better
- Cabbagethe original
Fit is the average pairing score against pork, sage, butter, vinegar. 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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