Name: Roast Beef
Ingredients: 680 g beef; 1,250 g consomme soup; peas; macaroni; 140 g butter; 1,870 g milk; 170 g cream

Why it works: Butter and milk are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 7% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 81,283 recipes. Both carry (z)-4-heptenal, which smells biscuit, cream. The science ↓

Roast Beef

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare

Roast the beef until cooked to your preference.
Prepare the consomme soup according to package instructions.
Cook the peas and macaroni separately until tender.
In a saucepan, melt the butter and stir in the milk and cream.

Serve

Combine the soup, peas, and macaroni in a serving bowl.
Serve the roast beef alongside the soup mixture.

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.

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.

Butter + milktop 7% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together81,283 recipes

Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).
Butter + creamtop 8% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together41,516 recipes

Shared aroma: delta-dodecalactone (sweet, creamy).
Beef + milktop 12% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together3,759 recipes

Shared aroma: 1-hexanal (fruit).
Beef + peastop 15% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together1,044 recipes

Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
Peas + milktop 16% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together1,309 recipes

Shared aroma: hexanal (green, grassy).

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

What each ingredient does

Beef: Provides the main protein and savory meaty flavor of the dish.
Consomme soup: Adds a clear, concentrated broth that gives the dish its savory base and moisture.
Peas: Add sweetness and a tender texture to the serving bowl.
Macaroni: Adds starchy bulk and a soft, absorbent texture to the soup mixture.
Butter: Contributes fat and richness to the milk and cream mixture.
Milk: Adds moisture and creamy body to the melted butter mixture.