Why it works: Pepper and sage 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 ↓
Pork Cutlets Re-dressed, with Sauce
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare and cook
Cut pork cutlets from the cold neck or loin, leaving the skin on and scored.
Season with coarse sea salt and black pepper.
Broil over a clear fire, ensuring they do not scorch.
Serve
Serve with Sage and Onion Sauce, gravy, eschalot, plain onions, fine herbs, gherkin, tomato, or poor man's sauce.
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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Pepper + sagetop 3% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together5,388 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).
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Pepper + tomatotop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together17,923 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
-
Onion + tomatotop 8% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together20,633 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
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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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Pork + tomatotop 10% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together4,843 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 cutlets
- Provide the main protein, which cooks through over direct heat while the skin crisps.
- Sage and onion sauce
- Adds moisture and savoury flavour to offset the lean, dry-heated meat.
The step that matters
Broil over a clear fire without scorching. Direct high heat browns the surface quickly, so the cutlets can burn before the centre cooks. Keeping the fire clear and turning the cutlets helps them cook evenly.
Swap the sage
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (pork, pepper, onion, sauce, tomato):
- Garlicfits better
- Thymefits better
- Celeryfits better
- Sagethe original
Fit is the average pairing score against pork, pepper, onion, sauce, tomato. 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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