Why it works: Potato and onion are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 3% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 9,023 recipes. Both carry 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine, which smells earthy, pea. The science ↓
Tinned-Meat Pie
Ingredients
Directions
The book says “a brisk oven”. The 400°F (200°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.
Prepare the filling
Peel the potatoes.
Boil the potatoes until just tender.
Slice the boiled potatoes.
Boil the onions until tender.
Drain the onions.
Chop the onions.
Open a pot of tinned meat. Scrape off the jelly from the tinned meat.
Place the tinned meat in a small saucepan with one cup of water.
Season the mixture with salt, pepper, and tomato ketchup.
Boil the mixture.
Assemble and bake
Line the bottom of a pie dish with a layer of potatoes.
Add some chopped onion to the pie dish.
Add pieces of tinned meat to the pie dish.
Season with salt and pepper.
Add another layer of potatoes and repeat the process until the dish is full, finishing with a layer of potatoes.
Pour the boiling gravy into the dish.
Place the pie in a preheated oven at 400 °F (200 °C). Bake until the top is nicely browned.
Serve hot.
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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Potato + oniontop 3% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together9,023 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
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Potato + tomatotop 5% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together2,798 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
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Pepper + tomatotop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together17,923 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
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Onion + tomatotop 8% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together20,633 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
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Potato + peppertop 9% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together8,305 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
- Potatoes
- Form the bulk of the pie, holding its layers together and soaking up the gravy.
- Onions
- Add sweetness and savoury flavour as they soften during boiling and baking.
- Tinned meat
- Supplies the main protein and savoury richness of the filling.
- Tomato ketchup
- Adds acidity and sweetness to the seasoned gravy.
The step that matters
Pour the boiling gravy into the dish. The gravy should be hot and well seasoned before it goes in, so the potato layers absorb it evenly and the filling bakes through rather than turning soggy or cold in the centre.
Swap the onion
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (potato, meat, pepper, tomato, ketchup):
- Capsicumfits better
- Carrotfits better
- Onionthe original
- Mustardfits about as well
Fit is the average pairing score against potato, meat, pepper, tomato, ketchup. 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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