Name: The Olive and Olive Oil
Ingredients: 1 fresh beef tongue; 1 bottle of olives; 24 large dry Chili peppers; 1 cup vinegar or juice of 2 lemons plus vinegar to fill; 1 teaspoon powdered summer savory; 2 tablespoons finely chopped onion; coarse sea salt to taste; olive oil to taste

Why it works: Pepper and summer savory work together. They rank in the top 7% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 671 recipes. Both carry estragole, which smells anise, licorice. The science ↓

The Olive and Olive Oil

Ingredients

1 fresh beef tongue
1 bottle of olives
24 large dry Chili peppers
1 cup vinegar or juice of 2 lemons plus vinegar to fill
1 teaspoon powdered summer savory
2 tablespoons finely chopped onion
coarse sea salt to taste
olive oil to taste

Directions

Prepare

Soak the chili peppers in water until softened.
In a bowl, combine vinegar or lemon juice with vinegar, summer savory, chopped onion, and salt.

Assemble and serve

Slice the beef tongue and arrange it on a serving platter.
Top the tongue with olives and soaked chili peppers.
Drizzle with olive oil before serving.

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.

Pepper + summer savorytop 7% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together671 recipes

Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).
Beef + oniontop 7% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together17,092 recipes

Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
Summer savory + oniontop 7% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together299 recipes

Shared aroma: coumarin (sweet, hay).
Olive + oniontop 8% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together29,779 recipes

Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).
Beef + peppertop 10% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together18,971 recipes

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

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

What each ingredient does

Beef tongue: Forms the main body of the dish, with a rich, tender texture once cooked.
Olives: Add briny, salty flavor that contrasts with the richness of the meat.
Dry chili peppers: Add heat and aroma; soaking softens them so they can be eaten with the tongue.
Vinegar: Adds acidity that sharpens the flavor and balances the fat of the tongue.
Olive oil: Adds fat and a fruity finish that carries the flavors of the dish.

Swap the summer savory

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (beef, olive, pepper, vinegar, onion):

Garlicfits better
Thymefits better
Tarragonfits better
Summer savorythe original

Fit is the average pairing score against beef, olive, pepper, vinegar, onion. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.

“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.