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Roast Loin Op Pork

Roast pork loin seasoned with powdered sage and cooked slowly with butter and water.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 4 ingredients
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Why it works: Pork and sage are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 12% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 2,527 recipes. Both carry 2-hexenal, which smells green, leafy. The science ↓

Roast Loin Op Pork

Oven, in the book's wordsA very moderate oven

Ingredients

Directions

The book says “a very moderate oven”. The 350°F (175°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.

Prepare

  1. If the loin is skinned, cover the top with buttered paper. If the skin is on, score it with a sharp knife in close lines.

  2. Rub the loin all over with powdered sage.

Roast and serve

  1. Place the loin in a 350°F (175°C) oven with a small amount of boiling water in the pan.

  2. Cook slowly for 20 minutes per pound, basting frequently.

  3. When done, serve with apple sauce.

Recipe from a historical cookbook (Internet Archive).

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.

  1. Pork + sagetop 12% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together2,527 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-hexenal (green, leafy).

  2. Pork + buttertop 13% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together13,933 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-furfurylthiol (coffee, roasted).

  3. Butter + sagetop 17% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together3,312 recipes

    Shared aroma: 3-hexenal (apple, fruity).

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

What each ingredient does

Pork loin
Provides the main protein, which firms and turns opaque as it cooks.
Butter
Covers the surface to add richness and help it brown gently under the paper.
Powdered sage
Adds a savoury, aromatic flavour to the outside of the meat.

The step that matters

Cook slowly and baste frequently. Slow roasting at moderate heat lets the centre cook through without drying the outer layers. Basting keeps the surface moist, which helps prevent the meat from drying out during the long cook.

Swap the sage

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

  1. Sagethe original
  2. Thymefits about as well
  3. Garlicfits less well
  4. Parsleyfits less well

Fit is the average pairing score against pork, 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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