Why it works: Potato and onion are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 3% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 9,023 recipes. Both carry 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine, which smells earthy, pea. The science ↓
Potato 'pie
Ingredients
Directions
The book says “a hot oven”. The 400°F (200°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.
Prepare the layers
Peel and slice the potatoes.
Layer the potatoes in a buttered dish, seasoning with salt and pepper.
Add a layer of finely chopped turnip and a slice of pork chop.
Repeat layers until the dish is nearly full.
Add enough water to cover the layers.
Cook and bake
Cook slowly on the stove until done.
Prepare a baking powder crust and cover the dish.
Bake at 400°F (200°C) until the crust is golden.
If desired, slice an onion before serving.
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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Potato + oniontop 3% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together9,023 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
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Turnip + oniontop 5% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together7,585 recipes
Shared aroma: coumarin (sweet, hay).
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Potato + porktop 5% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together2,668 recipes
Shared aroma: sotolon (curry, maple).
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Potato + turniptop 8% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together562 recipes
Shared aroma: coumarin (sweet, hay).
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Potato + peppertop 9% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together8,305 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Potatoes
- Form the bulk of the pie, becoming tender and starchy as they cook.
- Butter
- Greases the dish and adds richness and browning to the bottom layer.
- Pork chops
- Adds savoury meat flavour and fat that seasons the layers as they cook.
- Turnip
- Adds a mild, slightly peppery flavour and extra body between the potato layers.
- Baking powder
- Lifts the crust so it bakes light and turns golden in the oven.
The step that matters
Cook slowly on the stove until done. Potato and pork need enough time in liquid to become fully tender before the crust bakes. Rushing this leaves firm potato and undercooked meat, which the oven cannot fully fix in the short time needed for the crust to brown.
Swap the onion
The recipe marks onion as optional. How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (potato, butter, pepper, turnip, pork):
- Leekfits about as well
- Chivefits about as well
- Carrotfits about as well
- Onionthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against potato, butter, pepper, turnip, pork. 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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