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 ↓
Cornish Pasties
Ingredients
Directions
The book gives no oven temperature. The 350°F (175°C) in the steps was added when the recipe was transcribed, as a starting point.
Prepare the pastry
Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C).
In a bowl, combine the flour, salt, and baking powder. Rub in the dripping until well mixed.
Add enough cold water to form a stiff paste.
Flour a board and roll out the paste to about ¼ inch thick.
Cut the paste into squares, approximately 6-7 inches each.
Fill and shape
Place a small amount of meat, potatoes, and a sprinkle of salt, pepper, and onion in the center of each square.
Fold the paste over the filling and press the edges together to seal.
Bake and serve
Grease a baking tin and place the pasties on it.
Bake in the oven for 30 to 45 minutes until golden brown.
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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Beef + oniontop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together17,092 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
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Beef + potatotop 8% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together2,052 recipes
Shared aroma: sotolon (curry, maple).
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Potato + flourtop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together5,355 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Onion + flourtop 17% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together32,460 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Flour
- Forms the structure of the pastry that holds the filling.
- Dripping
- Adds fat that makes the pastry short and tender.
- Baking powder
- Helps the pastry rise slightly and lighten its texture.
- Beef skirt
- Provides the rich, savoury meat that cooks within the pastry.
- Potatoes
- Add bulk and moisture to the filling as they cook.
The step that matters
Press the edges together to seal. A tight seal keeps the juices and steam inside the pasty during baking. Gaps let the filling leak out and can leave the filling dry or the pastry soggy.
Swap the onion
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (beef, potato, flour):
- Chivefits better
- Leekfits about as well
- Onionthe original
- Okrafits about as well
Fit is the average pairing score against beef, potato, 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.
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