Name: Salsifis a LA Sauce Blanche
Ingredients: 4.4 pounds salsify (2 kilos); 2 liters water (about 8 cups); ½ cup vinegar (125 ml); 3.5 ounces beef kidney fat (100 g); 2 pinches coarse sea salt; 2 tablespoons vinegar; 5 deciliters white sauce (about 2 cups)

Why it works: Beef and sauce are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 24% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 3,650 recipes. Both carry ethanol, which smells alcoholic, ethereal. The science ↓

Salsifis a LA Sauce Blanche

Ingredients

4.4 pounds salsify (2 kilos)
2 liters water (about 8 cups)
½ cup vinegar (125 ml)
3.5 ounces beef kidney fat (100 g)
2 pinches coarse sea salt
2 tablespoons vinegar
5 deciliters white sauce (about 2 cups)

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

Select fresh salsify, ensuring it is dark and not hollow.
In a bowl, combine 8 cups of water and ½ cup of vinegar.
Trim the ends of the salsify, peel off the black skin, and place them in the water as you go.

Cook

In a 3‑liter pot, melt 3.5 ounces of beef kidney fat without browning.
Add 8 cups of water, 2 pinches of coarse sea salt, and 2 tablespoons of vinegar.
Bring the mixture to a boil.
Add the salsify.
Cover the pot with a slight opening.
Simmer for 30 minutes on low heat.
Drain the salsify.

Finish and serve

Cut the salsify into 7 cm pieces.
Place the pieces in a 2‑liter pot.
Pour 2 cups of white sauce over them.
Serve.

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.

Beef + saucetop 24% of all pairs

Smell alikelow

Cooked together3,650 recipes

Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
Vinegar + saucetop 26% of all pairs

Smell alikelow

Cooked together3,844 recipes

Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
Vinegar + beeftop 28% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together2,895 recipes

Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).

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

What each ingredient does

Salsify: Is the vegetable being cooked, so its firm, dark, solid roots set the texture of the dish.
White sauce: Adds creamy moisture and richness that coats the cooked salsify pieces.
Beef kidney fat: Adds richness and fat to the cooking liquid, carrying flavour into the salsify.

The step that matters

Trim and peel into acidulated water. Salsify discolours quickly once its skin is broken, so placing each piece straight into the vinegar water helps keep it pale.

“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.

Roast Beef211 recipes

Beef Loaf175 recipes

Corned Beef87 recipes

Beef Broth67 recipes

Like knowing why a recipe works?

The free Flavor Lab newsletter: one surprising pairing a week and the molecular reason it works, in 60 seconds. No spam, unsubscribe anytime.

Prefer an account? Create a free account to save pairings and unlock the full chemistry.

Salsifis a LA Sauce Blanche