Why it works: Sage and pepper match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 3% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 5,388 recipes. Both carry beta-phellandrene, which smells minty, terpene. The science ↓
To Roast Pork
Ingredients
Directions
Score the outer skin of the pork in regular stripes.
Mix chopped sage, onion, pepper, and coarse sea salt to make stuffing, if desired.
Rub the skin with salad oil before roasting to prevent blistering.
Baste frequently with butter using a muslin bag or the drippings.
Serve with hot water and salt poured over the pork for gravy.
Accompany with apple sauce in a small tureen to balance the richness of the meat.
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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Sage + peppertop 3% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together5,388 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).
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Pork + oniontop 10% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together18,214 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
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Onion + peppertop 11% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together68,474 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
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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 + oniontop 12% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together3,628 recipes
Shared aroma: coumarin (sweet, hay).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
Swap the onion
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (pork, sage, pepper, butter):
- Potatofits better
- Capsicumfits better
- Carrotfits about as well
- Onionthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against pork, sage, pepper, butter. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.
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