Why it works: Meat and butter are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 16% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 7,594 recipes. Both carry guaiacol, which smells smoky, sweet. The science ↓
Soups and Broths
Ingredients
Directions
Remove any gross particles from the soup to prevent scum.
Bring the soup to a gentle boil for 30 minutes, then simmer.
Add vegetables and a little coarse sea salt, removing any scum that rises.
Cover the pot and keep it simmering gently for 4 to 6 hours, adding boiling water if needed.
In a separate pan, melt butter, then add meat and vegetables with a little water, cooking over high heat.
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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Meat + buttertop 16% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together7,594 recipes
Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
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