Why it works: Pepper and mustard are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 9% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 15,430 recipes. Both carry 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine, which smells earthy, pea. The science ↓
Blade-bone of Pork
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare and cook
Remove excess meat from the blade-bone of pork.
Broil the blade-bone until just done.
Season with salt and pepper.
Add a piece of butter and 1 teaspoon of mustard on top.
Serve
Serve immediately.
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 + mustardtop 9% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together15,430 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
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Pork + mustardtop 11% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together2,445 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
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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 + peppertop 16% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together22,121 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
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Pepper + buttertop 21% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together85,593 recipes
Shared aroma: trans-2-nonenal (cardboard, fatty).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Pork blade-bone
- Is the main cut, and its meat cooks through under the broiler to be served tender.
- Butter
- Adds fat and richness, melting over the hot meat to moisten and flavour it.
- Mustard
- Adds sharp, tangy flavour that cuts through the richness of the pork and butter.
The step that matters
Broil the blade-bone until just done. Pork left too long under high heat dries out as its muscle proteins tighten and lose moisture. Pulling it at the first point it is cooked through keeps it juicy.
Swap the mustard
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (pork, pepper, butter):
- Potatofits better
- Capsicumfits better
- Onionfits better
- Mustardthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against pork, pepper, butter. 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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