Why it works: Carrot and potato match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 4% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 3,107 recipes. Both carry 2-isobutyl-3-methoxypyrazine, which smells green bell pepper, earthy. The science ↓
Potato Pie
Ingredients
Directions
The book gives no oven temperature. The 400°F (200°C) in the steps was added when the recipe was transcribed, as a starting point.
Prepare
Preheat the oven to 400°F (200°C).
Assemble
In a dish, combine cooked cabbage, chopped carrots, butter, pepper, and salt.
Layer thinly sliced raw potatoes on top, sprinkling with pepper, flour, and vinegar.
Bake and serve
Bake until the potatoes are thoroughly cooked.
Before serving, cover with a layer of mashed potato and brown it in the oven.
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.
-
Carrot + potatotop 4% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together3,107 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isobutyl-3-methoxypyrazine (green bell pepper, earthy).
-
Cabbage + peppertop 5% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together4,081 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
-
Carrot + peppertop 6% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together14,555 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
-
Cabbage + carrottop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together1,505 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
-
Cabbage + potatotop 9% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together275 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
- Raw potatoes
- Form the main layer, becoming tender and starchy as they cook through.
- Flour
- Thickens the juices released during baking so the filling holds together.
- Butter
- Adds fat and richness, carrying flavour through the cabbage and carrots.
- Vinegar
- Adds a small amount of acidity that brightens the savoury filling.
- Mashed potato
- Forms a crust on top that browns in the oven for colour and texture.
The step that matters
Bake until the potatoes are thoroughly cooked. Raw potato starch only becomes tender and digestible once fully heated through. Underbaked slices stay firm and chalky in the middle, so the pie should be baked until a knife slides easily through the layers.
Swap the cabbage
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (carrot, butter, pepper, potato, vinegar, flour):
- Capsicumfits better
- Parsnipfits better
- Chivefits better
- Cabbagethe original
Fit is the average pairing score against carrot, butter, pepper, potato, vinegar, flour. 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.
More potato pie recipes
You might also like
Potato Croquettes255 recipes
Carrot Soup134 recipes
Potato Rolls78 recipes
Red Cabbage65 recipesThe free Flavor Lab newsletter: one surprising pairing a week and the molecular reason it works, in 60 seconds. No spam, unsubscribe anytime.
Prefer an account? Create a free account to save pairings and unlock the full chemistry.