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Beef Loaf

A loaf made from chopped round steak, crackers, sweet milk, butter, pepper, salt, and eggs, baked with hot water.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
By Warren, Pa. Presbyterian church. Second auxiliary missionary society. [from old catalog] · From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 5 ingredients
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Beef Loaf

Why it works: Milk and tea work together. They rank in the top 11% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 738 recipes. Both carry 4-heptenal, which smells creamy, biscuit. The science ↓

Beef Loaf

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare

  1. Chop 3 pounds of round steak finely.

  2. Roll 1 cup crackers finely.

Mix and bake

  1. Mix 1 cup sweet milk, 1 cup butter, 1 teaspoon pepper, 1 teaspoon salt, and 2 eggs.

  2. Bake for 3 hours, basting with hot water and butter.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

299Calories
16 gProtein
15 gFat
25 gCarbs
What these numbers assume: 5 portions
IngredientPortion assumedkcal
Milk1 cup (244ml) whole149
Egg1 large egg (50g)78
Cracker5 saltine crackers (15g)66
Black Pepper1 tsp ground (2.3g)6
Salt1 tsp (6g)0

One typical portion per ingredient; the recipe's quantities are not counted. A rough guide only, not for medical or dietary planning.

By Warren, Pa. Presbyterian church. Second auxiliary missionary society. [from old catalog]. 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. See the original page.

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.

  1. Milk + teatop 11% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together738 recipes

    Shared aroma: 4-heptenal (creamy, biscuit).

  2. Pepper + teatop 15% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together260 recipes

    Shared aroma: trans-2-nonenal (cardboard, fatty).

  3. Milk + eggtop 18% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together88,785 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).

  4. Milk + peppertop 22% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together26,984 recipes

    Shared aroma: ethyl 2-methylbutyrate (fruity, apple).

  5. Tea + eggtop 31% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together821 recipes

    Shared aroma: (e)-2-octenal (fatty, green).

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

What each ingredient does

Round steak (in the method)
Forms the main body of the loaf, giving it its meaty texture.
Eggs
Bind the mixture and help it set into a firm loaf as it cooks.
Cracker
Absorbs liquid and helps bind the meat so the loaf holds together.
Sweet milk
Adds moisture that keeps the loaf from drying out as it bakes.
Butter (in the method)
Adds fat and richness, helping keep the loaf moist and flavourful.

The step that matters

Basting during the 3-hour bake. A long bake can dry out lean meat. Regular basting with hot water and butter adds moisture and fat to the surface, helping keep the loaf juicy and encouraging even browning.

“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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