Name: Sausages & Mash with Quick Onion Gravy
Yield: Serves 2
Ingredients: 500g potatoes , peeled and cut into large chunks; 6 meaty pork sausages , look for free-range; 4-6 tbsp caramelised red onions from a jar (such as The English Provender Co); 150ml beef or chicken stock fresh, cube or concentrate; butter; milk

Why it works: Pork and beef match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 5,690 recipes. Both carry 12-methyltridecanal, which smells tallowy, beefy. The science ↓

Sausages & Mash with Quick Onion Gravy

Serves 2

Ingredients

500g potatoes , peeled and cut into large chunks
6 meaty pork sausages , look for free-range
4-6 tbsp caramelised red onions from a jar (such as The English Provender Co)
150ml beef or chicken stock fresh, cube or concentrate
butter
milk

Directions

Step-by-step directions aren't available for this recipe. See the full recipe at the source →

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

1172Calories

83 gProtein

65 gFat

61 gCarbs

What these numbers assume: 7 portions

Ingredient	Portion assumed	kcal
Pork Sausage	100g cooked	301
Beef	100g cooked	250
Chicken	100g cooked	165
Potato	1 medium (173g) baked	161
Milk	1 cup (244ml) whole	149
Butter	1 tbsp (14g)	102
Red Onion	1 medium (110g)	44

One typical portion per ingredient; the recipe's quantities are not counted. A rough guide only, not for medical or dietary planning.

By bbcgoodfood. Recipe from Open Recipes.

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.

Pork + beeftop 1% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together5,690 recipes

Shared aroma: 12-methyltridecanal (tallowy, beefy).
Potato + oniontop 3% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together9,023 recipes

Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
Potato + porktop 5% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together2,668 recipes

Shared aroma: sotolon (curry, maple).
Onion + beeftop 7% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together17,092 recipes

Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
Butter + milktop 7% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together81,283 recipes

Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

Swap the onion

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (potato, pork, beef, butter, milk):

Onionthe original
Tomatofits about as well
Asparagusfits less well
Chivefits less well

Fit is the average pairing score against potato, pork, beef, butter, milk. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.

Like knowing why a recipe works?

The free Flavor Lab newsletter: one surprising pairing a week and the molecular reason it works, in 60 seconds. No spam, unsubscribe anytime.

Prefer an account? Create a free account to save pairings and unlock the full chemistry.