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Hodge-podge, I rEcossaise

A stew of mixed meats, carrots, potatoes, onion, and peas simmered in water or broth.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 9 ingredients
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Why it works: Parsley and thyme match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 9,057 recipes. Both carry cuminaldehyde, which smells Spicy, cumin. The science ↓

Hodge-podge, I rEcossaise

Ingredients

Directions

The book gives no cooking times; the times in the steps were added in transcription, so check for doneness rather than trusting the clock.

Prepare

  1. In a large pot, combine the mixed meats, carrots, potatoes, and onion.

  2. Add water or broth to cover the ingredients.

  3. Season with salt, pepper, and herbs.

Simmer and serve

  1. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for 1 hour.

  2. Add green peas and cook for an additional 15 minutes.

  3. Serve hot.

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. Parsley + thymetop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together9,057 recipes

    Shared aroma: cuminaldehyde (Spicy, cumin).

  2. Carrot + parsleytop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together8,053 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).

  3. Pepper + parsleytop 2% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together34,122 recipes

    Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).

  4. Carrot + thymetop 3% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together4,563 recipes

    Shared aroma: cuminaldehyde (Spicy, cumin).

  5. Potato + oniontop 3% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together9,023 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

Mixed meats
Provide the main protein and rich savory flavor as they simmer slowly.
Potatoes
Release starch into the broth, thickening it and giving the stew body.
Carrots
Add natural sweetness and firm texture that holds up to long simmering.
Onion
Builds savory depth as its sugars and flavor compounds soften into the broth.
Green peas
Add a bright, sweet flavor and color; they cook quickly, so they go in late.

The step that matters

Adding the green peas. Peas cook much faster than the meat and root vegetables. Adding them with the rest would turn them dull and mushy, so they are added only for the final 15 minutes.

Swap the peas

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (meat, carrot, potato, onion, pepper, parsley, thyme):

  1. Chickpeafits better
  2. Beansfits better
  3. Lentilsfits better
  4. Peasthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against meat, carrot, potato, onion, pepper, parsley, thyme. 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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