Why it works: Mace and nutmeg are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 4% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 6,557 recipes. Both carry myristicin, which smells spice, warm. The science ↓
Irish Potato 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. The book gives no cooking times either; the times in the steps were added in transcription, so check for doneness rather than trusting the clock.
Prepare
Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C).
Make the filling
In a large bowl, combine the mashed potatoes, sugar, and beaten butter.
Add the beaten eggs, lemon juice and rind, mace, and grated nutmeg, and mix well.
Bake
Pour the mixture into a pie dish and bake without a top crust for about 30-40 minutes or until set.
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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Mace + nutmegtop 4% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together6,557 recipes
Shared aroma: myristicin (spice, warm).
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Lemon + nutmegtop 5% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together11,318 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).
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Potato + nutmegtop 8% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together1,052 recipes
Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).
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Potato + lemontop 12% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together2,230 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
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Potato + buttertop 13% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together6,456 recipes
Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Mashed potatoes
- Provides the body and moisture that give the pie its smooth, soft filling.
- Eggs
- Set when baked, holding the filling together as a firm custard-like texture.
- Butter
- Adds fat for richness and a smooth, tender mouthfeel.
- Sugar
- Adds sweetness and helps the top brown during baking.
- Lemon juice and rind
- Adds acidity and bright citrus aroma that balance the sweetness.
- Nutmeg
- Adds warm, aromatic spice flavour to the filling.
The step that matters
Bake until set. The eggs must coagulate to firm the filling. Underbaking leaves it runny and wet, while overbaking can make the eggs curdle and weep, so check for a set centre rather than relying only on the time.
Swap the mace
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (potato, sugar, butter, egg, lemon, nutmeg):
- Cinnamonfits better
- Parsleyfits better
- Cardamomfits better
- Macethe original
Fit is the average pairing score against potato, sugar, butter, egg, lemon, nutmeg. 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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