Why it works: Rice and corn match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 5% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 933 recipes. Both carry 2-nonenal, which smells fatty, green. The science ↓
Meat Pie
Ingredients
Directions
The book gives no oven temperature. The 350°F (175°C) in the steps was added when the recipe was transcribed, as a starting point.
Prepare
Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C).
Make the filling
In a casserole, combine the ground meat, cooked rice, chopped onion, 1 cup of cream, salt, and pepper.
Mix in the eggs and add the corn or peas.
Pour the mixture into the casserole and bake for 40 minutes.
Top and finish
Top with grated cheese and bake for an additional 10 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.
-
Rice + corntop 5% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together933 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
-
Rice + oniontop 9% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together10,433 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).
-
Pepper + corntop 11% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together5,324 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
-
Onion + peppertop 11% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together68,474 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
-
Rice + peppertop 12% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together8,379 recipes
Shared aroma: trans-2-nonenal (cardboard, fatty).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Ground round steak or hamburger
- Provides the main body and savory flavor of the pie.
- Eggs
- Bind the mixture and help it set firm as it bakes.
- Cooked rice
- Adds bulk and a tender texture to the filling.
- Canned cream
- Adds moisture and richness so the filling stays soft.
- Canned whole kernel corn or peas
- Adds sweetness and texture to the filling.
- Grated cheese
- Melts and browns on top for flavor and color.
The step that matters
Pour the mixture into the casserole and bake for 40 minutes. Eggs set as they heat, so the filling can curdle or turn dry if overbaked. Check that the center is firm but not dry before adding the cheese topping.
Swap the onion
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (rice, cream, pepper, egg, corn, cheese):
- Capsicumfits better
- Asparagusfits better
- Potatofits better
- Onionthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against rice, cream, pepper, egg, corn, cheese. 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.
More meat pie recipes
You might also like
Cornmeal Griddle Cakes24 recipes
Corn Breakfast Cakes20 recipes
Delicate Cake246 recipes
Boiled Frosting69 recipesThe 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.