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 ↓
Raised Pork Pie
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare
Prepare a raised crust pastry about 4 inches high.
Cut the pork into chops and beat them with a chopper.
Fill and bake
Season the pork with pepper and coarse sea salt, then fill the pie.
Cover with the top crust, pinch the edges to seal, and brush with egg yolk.
Bake for 2 hours, covering with paper to prevent burning.
Finish
Once baked, pour in gravy and add mustard if desired.
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 + peppertop 16% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together22,121 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
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Egg + mustardtop 28% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together9,210 recipes
Shared aroma: (e)-2-octenal (fatty, green).
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Pork + eggtop 30% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together10,387 recipes
Shared aroma: (e,e)-2,4-decadienal (fatty, deep fried).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Pastry
- Forms the raised case that holds the filling and gives the pie its shape.
- Loin of pork
- Provides the meat filling, whose juices and fat keep the pie moist during baking.
- Egg yolk
- Brushed on the top crust, it promotes browning and a glossy finish.
- Gravy
- Added after baking, it moistens the filling and fills the gaps left as the meat cooks.
The step that matters
Covering the pie while it bakes. A long bake of 2 hours can scorch the pastry before the pork cooks through. Covering the pie with paper shields the crust from direct heat while the filling heats evenly.
Swap the mustard
The recipe marks mustard as optional. How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (pork, pepper, egg):
- Capsicumfits better
- Potatofits better
- Asparagusfits better
- Mustardthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against pork, pepper, egg. 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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