Why it works: Beef and vinegar are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 28% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 2,895 recipes. Both carry beta-damascenone, which smells apple, rose. The science ↓
To Make Tough Meat Tender
Ingredients
Directions
Combine 3 quarts of water with ¾ pint of vinegar in a large container.
Soak the beef in the mixture for 6 to 12 hours, depending on the size of the piece.
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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Beef + vinegartop 28% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked 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
- Beef
- The main protein that the acidic soak works to tenderize.
- Vinegar
- Its acidity helps loosen tough muscle proteins in the beef during soaking.
The step that matters
Soaking the beef for the full time. Acid works slowly and only penetrates the surface of the meat. Soaking too briefly leaves the centre tough, while the time needed depends on the size of the piece.
“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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