Name: Pot-au-feu-konsten
Ingredients: beef (preferably fatty cuts); fresh vegetables (such as carrots, leeks, and potatoes); coarse sea salt; water

Why it works: Carrot and leek match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 3% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 1,310 recipes. Both carry coumarin, which smells sweet, hay. The science ↓

Pot-au-feu-konsten

Ingredients

beef (preferably fatty cuts)
fresh vegetables (such as carrots, leeks, and potatoes)
coarse sea salt
water

Directions

Cut the beef into large chunks and place in a large pot.
Add enough water to cover the meat and bring to a boil.
Skim off any foam that rises to the surface.
Add the chopped vegetables and coarse sea salt.
Reduce heat and simmer for several hours until the meat is tender.
Serve hot, ensuring to include both meat and vegetables.

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.

Carrot + leektop 3% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together1,310 recipes

Shared aroma: coumarin (sweet, hay).
Carrot + potatotop 4% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together3,107 recipes

Shared aroma: 2-isobutyl-3-methoxypyrazine (green bell pepper, earthy).
Leek + potatotop 6% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together30 recipes

Shared aroma: 1-octen-3-ol (mushroom, earthy).
Beef + potatotop 8% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together2,052 recipes

Shared aroma: sotolon (curry, maple).
Beef + carrottop 10% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together6,606 recipes

Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).