Why it works: Celery and pepper match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 5% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 16,012 recipes. Both carry 4'-methylacetophenone, which smells bitter almond. The science ↓
Celery Broth
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare
Clean 3 stalks fresh celery. Remove the hearts, pick off spoiled leaves, and chop branches and roots into small pieces.
Make the broth
Take 1.5 pounds beef, chop finely, and put in a saucepan with 2 branches parsley, 1 branch each of chervil and chives (if at hand), the whites of 2 eggs, 2 teaspoons salt, 2 saltspoons pepper, and the washed and drained celery.
Mix and heat for five minutes, then place over the fire and slowly stir in 2 quarts water, continuing until it reaches a boil.
Set back and let simmer for 1 hour, then strain.
Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)
Counts 4 of 5 ingredients. The other 1 aren't in our nutrition table and add nothing above, so the real totals are higher.
What these numbers assume: 4 portions
| Ingredient | Portion assumed | kcal |
|---|---|---|
| Egg | 1 large egg (50g) | 78 |
| Celery | 1 stalk (40g) | 6 |
| Black Pepper | 1 tsp ground (2.3g) | 6 |
| Salt | 1 tsp (6g) | 0 |
| Chervil | not in our table | 0 |
One typical portion per ingredient; the recipe's quantities are not counted. A rough guide only, not for medical or dietary planning.
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. See the original page.
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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Celery + peppertop 5% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together16,012 recipes
Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).
-
Celery + cherviltop 7% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together278 recipes
Shared aroma: coumarin (sweet, hay).
-
Chervil + peppertop 9% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together867 recipes
Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).
-
Chervil + eggtop 21% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together620 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-methylbutyraldehyde (malty, chocolate).
-
Egg + peppertop 33% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together50,580 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
Egg and pepper barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 50,580 recipes: they work on texture and structure more than aroma.
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Beef (in the method)
- Gives the broth its savory flavour and body as it simmers.
- Eggs
- Their whites coagulate as the broth heats, trapping particles so the broth clears.
- Celery
- Adds the fresh, aromatic vegetable flavour that defines the broth.
The step that matters
Set back and let simmer for 1 hour. The broth must simmer gently rather than boil hard. Egg whites coagulate into a raft that traps cloudy particles; vigorous boiling breaks the raft apart and leaves the broth murky.
Swap the celery
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (chervil, egg, pepper):
- Tarragonfits better
- Capersfits better
- Parsleyfits better
- Celerythe original
Fit is the average pairing score against chervil, egg, 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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