Why it works: Parsley and pepper match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 2% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 34,122 recipes. Both carry 4'-methylacetophenone, which smells bitter almond. The science ↓
Tomato Forcemeat
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare
1 lb. of chopped tomatoes.
1 tablespoon chopped suet.
3 tablespoons bread-crumbs.
1 oz. dripping.
1 oz. flour.
1 pt. water.
1 teaspoon parsley.
1 teaspoon sweet herbs, salt, pepper, cayenne.
2 teaspoons vinegar.
1 lb. beef.
1 teaspoon salt.
1 oz. pepper.
Make the sauce
Melt dripping in saucepan.
Fry sliced onion.
Remove onion.
Blend in flour.
Allow it to brown.
Add water gradually.
Boil up.
Add pepper and salt.
Allow it to cool.
Add vinegar.
Stew the meat
Put in meat.
Cut into neat little pieces.
Stew for 1 1/2 hours.
Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)
What these numbers assume: 5 portions
| Ingredient | Portion assumed | kcal |
|---|---|---|
| Onion | 1 medium (110g) | 44 |
| Black Pepper | 1 tsp ground (2.3g) | 6 |
| Vinegar | 1 tbsp (15ml) distilled | 3 |
| Parsley | 1 tbsp chopped fresh (3.8g) | 1 |
| Salt | 1 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.
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.
-
Parsley + peppertop 2% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together34,122 recipes
Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).
-
Parsley + oniontop 9% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together25,843 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).
-
Onion + peppertop 11% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together68,474 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
-
Vinegar + oniontop 14% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together18,226 recipes
Shared aroma: acetic acid (sour, vinegar).
-
Vinegar + peppertop 14% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together27,814 recipes
Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Beef (in the method)
- Forms the main bulk of the dish and becomes tender during the long stew.
- Flour (in the method)
- Browns in the dripping and thickens the liquid into a smooth sauce.
- Dripping (in the method)
- Fat that fries the onion and browns the flour, adding richness.
- Bread-crumbs
- Absorb moisture and help bind the forcemeat together.
- Suet
- Adds fat that keeps the forcemeat moist and rich.
- Onion
- Frying softens its sharpness and adds a savoury aroma to the base.
The step that matters
Allow it to brown. Browning the flour in the hot dripping gives the sauce colour and a nutty, toasted flavour. Stop too early and the sauce tastes raw and pale; go too far and it turns bitter.
Swap the onion
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (bread, parsley, vinegar, pepper):
- Capsicumfits better
- Shallotfits better
- Carrotfits better
- Onionthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against bread, parsley, vinegar, 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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