Why it works: Butter and milk are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 7% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 81,283 recipes. Both carry (z)-4-heptenal, which smells biscuit, cream. The science ↓
Beef Hash
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare
Chop the cooled beef into small pieces.
In a bowl, combine the chopped beef and chopped potatoes.
Cook
If using fresh meat, add the broth; otherwise, add water.
Season with salt and pepper, then add butter.
Let the mixture stew, frying it slightly.
Just before serving, stir in the milk and cook until heated through.
Serve
Serve hot, with some butter melted on top.
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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Butter + milktop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together81,283 recipes
Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).
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Beef + potatotop 8% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together2,052 recipes
Shared aroma: sotolon (curry, maple).
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Potato + peppertop 9% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together8,305 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
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Potato + milktop 9% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together3,611 recipes
Shared aroma: (e,z)-2,6-nonadienal (cucumber, melon).
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Beef + peppertop 10% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together18,971 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
- Corned or fresh beef
- Provides the main meaty body and savory flavor of the hash.
- Potatoes
- Bulk and starch that soften and help bind the hash together as it cooks.
- Butter
- Adds richness and helps the mixture brown lightly in the pan.
- Milk
- Adds moisture and creaminess to loosen the hash just before serving.
The step that matters
Frying the mixture slightly while it stews. Letting the hash sit in the pan with butter lets the surface brown, which adds flavor. Stirring too often or cooking on high heat can dry it out or scorch it before the flavors meld.
“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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