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 400°F (200°C) in the steps was added when the recipe was transcribed, as a starting point.
Make the pastry
In a bowl, combine the flour, a pinch of salt, and baking powder. Rub in the dripping until well mixed.
Add enough cold water to form a stiff paste.
Flour a surface and roll out the paste to about ¼ inch thick.
Cut the paste into squares, approximately 6-7 inches.
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 to seal.
Grease a baking tin and place the pasties on it.
Bake
Preheat the oven to 400°F (200°C).
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 + peppertop 9% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together8,305 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
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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
- Flour
- Forms the structure of the pastry that holds the filling and keeps its shape.
- Dripping
- Adds fat that makes the pastry short and tender and helps it brown.
- Baking powder
- Releases gas in the oven, giving the pastry a lighter rise.
- Buttock steak or beef skirt
- Provides the main meat filling, which becomes tender and flavourful as it cooks.
- Potatoes
- Add starch and body to the filling, absorbing juices as they cook.
- Onion
- Adds savoury sweetness and aroma to the filling as it cooks.
The step that matters
Rubbing in the dripping and adding the water. Rubbing fat into flour coats the flour particles so less gluten forms. Adding only enough cold water keeps the paste stiff, which keeps the pastry short and crisp rather than tough.
Swap the onion
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (beef, potato, flour, pepper):
- Chivefits better
- Carrotfits about as well
- Capsicumfits about as well
- Onionthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against beef, potato, flour, pepper. 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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