Why it works: Pork and potato are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 5% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 2,668 recipes. Both carry sotolon, which smells curry, maple. The science ↓
A Good Dinner for John on a Cold Day
Ingredients
Directions
The book says “a good oven”. The 400°F (200°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.
Prepare the sauerkraut
Wash the sauerkraut lightly in cold water.
Stick 12 whole cloves into one large onion and place it in the center of the sauerkraut in an earthenware or granite vessel.
Add 1 quart of hot water, cover tightly, and place in a 400°F (200°C) oven.
For a 6 o'clock dinner, start cooking at 1 o'clock.
Roast the pork
After an hour, clean the pork and place it in the oven to roast, adding drippings from the meat to the sauerkraut gradually.
Add water to the sauerkraut if it boils away.
Make the mashed potatoes
Peel the potatoes, cut them into pieces, boil until soft, drain, and mash well.
Add 1 tablespoon of butter, salt, and milk to moisten as desired, and beat lightly.
Make the rice pudding
Wash the rice and add it to the 2 quarts of milk with the dissolved sugar.
Place in a large pan in a 350°F (175°C) oven, stirring occasionally for the first hour.
Scald the raisins, add them to the rice and milk, and cook until tender but not dry.
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 + potatotop 5% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together2,668 recipes
Shared aroma: sotolon (curry, maple).
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Potato + ricetop 7% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together851 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-acetyl-1-pyrroline (popcorn, roasted).
-
Milk + buttertop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together81,283 recipes
Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).
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Rice + milktop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together7,374 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
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Potato + milktop 9% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together3,611 recipes
Shared aroma: (e,z)-2,6-nonadienal (cucumber, melon).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Pork
- Provides the rich meat and drippings that flavour the sauerkraut as it cooks.
- Sauerkraut
- Forms the tangy, slow-cooked base of the stew.
- Potatoes
- Mashed with butter and milk to make a soft, starchy side.
- Rice
- Thickens the milk as it cooks, giving the pudding a creamy body.
- Milk
- Supplies liquid that softens the rice and gives the pudding its creaminess.
- Raisins
- Add plump sweetness and chew to the rice pudding.
The step that matters
Keep the sauerkraut moist while it cooks. Sealed in a covered vessel, sauerkraut can dry out or scorch as liquid boils away. Adding water as needed keeps it from burning and keeps the drippings blended in.
Swap the raisin
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (pork, potato, rice, milk, sugar, butter):
- Coconutfits better
- Vanillafits better
- Applefits better
- Raisinthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against pork, potato, rice, milk, sugar, butter. 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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