Why it works: Flour and egg are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 15% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 106,462 recipes. Both carry isobutyraldehyde, which smells malty, green. The science ↓
Pork Pie
Ingredients
Directions
In a large saucepan, combine ½ cup lard and ½ cup cold water. Heat until boiling, watching carefully to prevent it from boiling over.
Cut the pork into 1-inch pieces.
In a bowl, add 1 pound of flour. Pour the boiling lard and water mixture into the flour and mix well with a spoon.
Once cool enough, knead the dough until smooth. Do not add more water; the dough should be stiff.
On a floured surface, take the dough and shape it into a mold, about ⅓ inch thick.
Flour a knife and level the top of the dough mold.
Dip the pork pieces in cold water, season with salt and pepper, and place them tightly in the dough mold. Optionally, add chopped sage for flavor.
Roll out the remaining dough to cover the top of the pie, about ⅓ inch thick.
Separate the egg, and brush the egg white around the edge of the dough mold.
Place the rolled dough over the pie, pressing the edges to seal.
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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Flour + eggtop 15% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together106,462 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Pork + peppertop 16% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together22,121 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
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Pepper + flourtop 19% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together50,459 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Pork + flourtop 27% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together11,187 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Pork + eggtop 30% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together10,387 recipes
Shared aroma: (e,e)-2,4-decadienal (fatty, deep fried).
Flour and egg barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 106,462 recipes: they work on texture and structure more than aroma.
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
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