Why it works: Beef and egg are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 31% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 8,305 recipes. Both carry 2-nonenal, which smells fatty, green. The science ↓
Bouillon
Ingredients
Directions
The book gives no oven temperature. The 250°F (120°C) in the steps was added when the recipe was transcribed, as a starting point.
Make the broth
Cut the beef into small strips and place them in an open kettle.
Cover the beef with pure cold water.
Bring to a gentle simmer and maintain for 6 to 8 hours, adding water as needed.
Once the juice is extracted, draw off the liquid, leaving the fat in the kettle.
Clarify and sterilize
Clarify the bouillon with egg albumen or blood if desired.
To sterilize, boil in flasks or cans for 20 minutes over three days, allowing to cool between heatings.
If using a tin can, seal it and sterilize for 1 hour at 250°F (120°C) in a steam retort.
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.
Photo for illustrative purposes only · Contact us to use it
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 + eggtop 31% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together8,305 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Beef
- Supplies the main flavour and collagen, which dissolves into the liquid to give it body.
- Pure cold water
- Acts as the solvent that draws flavour and juices out of the beef as it heats.
- Egg albumen or blood
- Coagulates with impurities during heating so they can be removed, leaving the broth clearer.
The step that matters
Hold a gentle simmer. A hard boil breaks fat into the liquid and makes the broth cloudy. Slow, steady heat draws out collagen and flavour gradually and keeps the liquid clear.
“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.
More beef broth recipes
You might also like
Roast Beef211 recipes
Beef Loaf175 recipes
Corned Beef87 recipes
Beef Croquettes58 recipesThe 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.