Why it works: Pepper and vinegar are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 14% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 27,814 recipes. Both carry 4'-methylacetophenone, which smells bitter almond. The science ↓
Fried Tripe
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare the tripe
Scrape the tripe well on both sides and cut it into hand-sized pieces.
Boil the tripe in salted water (1 tablespoon salt per quart) until very tender.
Fry and serve
The next day, cut the tripe into smaller pieces, season with pepper and salt, and dredge with a little flour.
Fry the tripe in hot lard until brown on both sides.
Remove the tripe and pour out most of the lard.
Add ½ cup of boiling water and thicken with a little flour mixed smooth with 2 teaspoons of vinegar.
Season to taste, pour the sauce over the tripe, and serve hot for breakfast.
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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Pepper + vinegartop 14% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together27,814 recipes
Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).
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Pepper + flourtop 19% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together50,459 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Flour + vinegartop 27% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together8,652 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Tripe
- Main protein; boiling makes it very tender, and frying gives it browned, crisp surfaces.
- Flour
- Dredging coat browns during frying, and a flour paste thickens the sauce.
- Lard
- Fat for frying that browns the tripe and adds rich flavor.
- Vinegar
- Adds acidity to the sauce, balancing the rich fat and flavor.
The step that matters
Boiling the tripe until very tender. Tripe is tough connective tissue, and it only becomes tender after long, gentle simmering. If it is undercooked, it stays chewy however it is later fried.
“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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