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 says “a hot oven”. The 400°F (200°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.
Prepare the filling
Preheat the oven to 400°F (200°C).
In a bowl, combine diced steak, potatoes, onion, and cold water.
Shape the pasties
Roll out short pastry and cut into circles.
Place a portion of filling on one half of each pastry circle.
Fold pastry over and seal edges.
Place pasties on a greased baking tin.
Bake
Bake in the hot oven for 15 minutes, then reduce the temperature to 350°F (175°C) and bake for an additional 30 minutes.
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).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Buttock steak
- Provides the meat filling, which becomes tender during the long, slow baking.
- Potatoes
- Add starch and bulk to the filling, absorbing juices as they cook.
- Short pastry
- Forms the sealed case that holds the filling and bakes to a crisp, golden shell.
- Onion
- Adds savoury flavour to the filling as it cooks with the meat and potato.
The step that matters
Sealing the edges. If the pastry edges are not sealed firmly, juices leak out during baking and the filling can dry or burn. A tight seal keeps the steam and juices inside so the filling cooks through.
“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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