Why it works: Pork and meat are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 11% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 3,208 recipes. Both carry 1-octen-3-one, which smells mushroom, metallic. The science ↓
Timbal of Sauerkraut, German Style
Ingredients
Directions
The book says “a moderate oven”. The 350°F (175°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.
Prepare
Cook the sauerkraut with the parboiled salt pork until three-quarters done, then drain and cool.
Prepare a Timbal mould and line it with paté paste.
Assemble and bake
Layer sausage meat mixed with fine herbs at the bottom, followed by sauerkraut, thin slices of salt pork, and fresh fillet of pork.
Repeat layering until the mould is full, then cover tightly with paté paste.
Place a buttered paper cover over the mould and bake in a 350°F (175°C) oven for 1.5 hours.
Unmould and serve
Remove the paper cover, turn the Timbal onto a dish, and remove the mould.
Make a hole in the center and fill it with Madeira wine sauce.
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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Pork + meattop 11% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together3,208 recipes
Shared aroma: 1-octen-3-one (mushroom, metallic).
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Pork + buttertop 13% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together13,933 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-furfurylthiol (coffee, roasted).
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Butter + saucetop 15% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together15,338 recipes
Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
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Meat + buttertop 16% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together7,594 recipes
Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).
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Madeira wine + saucetop 19% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together230 recipes
Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
Butter and sauce barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 15,338 recipes: they work on texture and structure more than aroma.
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Sauerkraut
- Provides moisture and a sharp, acidic flavor that balances the rich meats.
- Salt pork
- Adds fat and savoury flavour that keeps the meat layers moist during baking.
- Fresh fillet of pork
- Forms the tender, lean meat layers that set firm as the timbal bakes.
- Sausage meat
- Adds seasoned fat and herbs that flavour the base layer and bind the filling.
- Paté paste
- Encloses the filling in a sturdy pastry shell that holds its shape during baking.
The step that matters
Cover tightly with paté paste before baking. A tight seal keeps steam and juices inside the mould, so the filling cooks moist and the pastry does not dry out or split. Gaps let juices escape and leave the timbal dry.
“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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