Why it works: Carrot and celery match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 10,173 recipes. Both carry myristicin, which smells spice, warm. The science ↓
Beef Soup
Ingredients
Directions
The book gives no cooking times; the times in the steps were added in transcription, so check for doneness rather than trusting the clock.
Make the broth
In a large pot, combine beef bones and water. Bring to a boil.
Add onion, carrots, celery, bay leaf, salt, and pepper.
Reduce heat and simmer for 2-3 hours, skimming off any foam.
Strain and serve
Strain the soup and discard solids. Serve hot.
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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Carrot + celerytop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together10,173 recipes
Shared aroma: myristicin (spice, warm).
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Celery + peppertop 5% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together16,012 recipes
Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).
-
Carrot + peppertop 6% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together14,555 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
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Onion + carrottop 6% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together21,601 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
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Beef + oniontop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together17,092 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 bones
- Release collagen and flavour into the water as they simmer, giving the soup body and depth.
- Onion
- Adds sweetness and savoury aroma as it softens and releases flavour into the broth.
- Carrots
- Contribute natural sweetness and aromatic flavour to the simmering broth.
- Celery
- Adds savoury, herbal aroma to the broth as it simmers.
The step that matters
Skimming off foam while simmering. Foam contains coagulated proteins and impurities rising from the bones. Skimming it keeps the broth clear and prevents bitter or cloudy flavours from mixing back in.
Swap the onion
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (beef, carrot, celery, pepper):
- Capsicumfits better
- Parsnipfits better
- Turnipfits better
- Onionthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against beef, carrot, celery, pepper. 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.
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