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Beef Roll

A savory beef roll made with eggs, nutmeg, ham or bacon, bread crumbs, and seasoned with pepper and salt, boiled for two hours.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
By Hamilton, Margaret · From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 5 ingredients
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Why it works: Nutmeg and pepper match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 7% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 13,015 recipes. Both carry 4'-methylacetophenone, which smells bitter almond. The science ↓

Beef Roll

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare the mixture

  1. Take 1 lb. beef steak, 2 eggs, and 1 grated nutmeg.

  2. Add 1 lb. lean ham or bacon, pepper and salt to taste.

  3. Add 6 oz. bread crumbs.

  4. Pass twice through a mincing machine.

  5. Well-beat two eggs and mix.

Shape and cook

  1. Form into a thin sausage.

  2. Tie in a cloth like a roly-poley pudding.

  3. Boil for two hours.

Finish

  1. Glaze when cold.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

96Calories
7 gProtein
6 gFat
3 gCarbs
What these numbers assume: 4 portions
IngredientPortion assumedkcal
Egg1 large egg (50g)78
Nutmeg1 tsp ground (2.2g)12
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 Hamilton, Margaret. 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.

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. Nutmeg + peppertop 7% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together13,015 recipes

    Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).

  2. Egg + nutmegtop 17% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together24,744 recipes

    Shared aroma: acetic acid (sour, vinegar).

  3. Egg + peppertop 33% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together50,580 recipes

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

Egg and nutmeg barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 24,744 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 steak (in the method)
Provides the main meat body and bulk of the roll.
Eggs
Bind the mixture and help it set firm when cooked.
Bread crumbs (in the method)
Absorb moisture and add softness to the minced filling.
Lean ham or bacon (in the method)
Adds savoury flavour and fat to the filling.

The step that matters

Tie in a cloth like a roly-poley pudding. The cloth must be tight and well closed so the roll keeps its shape while boiling. A loose wrap lets water in and the mixture can break apart or turn soggy.

Swap the nutmeg

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (egg, pepper):

  1. Parsleyfits better
  2. Dillfits about as well
  3. Tarragonfits about as well
  4. Nutmegthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against 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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