Name: To Stew Shin of Beef
Ingredients: eight pounds of a rump of beef; two ounces of butter into a thick saucepan; a bunch of savoury herbs; a slice of hung beef from which the smoked edges have been carefully pared away; a wineglassful of catsup; a tablespoonful of flour; a pint of hot water; five carrots; two last will require a little more than the ordinary time of boiling; three dessertspoonsful of rice-flour; three quarters of a pint of hot water; one large; three moderate-sized onions; two bay-leaves; half done; 8 lbs; cloves; black pepper; pepper; salt

Why it works: Clove and pepper match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 5% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 17,451 recipes. Both carry ethyl octanoate, which smells fruity, wine. The science ↓

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.

Clove + peppertop 5% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together17,451 recipes

Shared aroma: ethyl octanoate (fruity, wine).
Carrot + clovetop 5% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together5,873 recipes

Shared aroma: cuminaldehyde (Spicy, cumin).
Carrot + peppertop 6% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together14,555 recipes

Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
Carrot + oniontop 6% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together21,601 recipes

Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
Beef + oniontop 7% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked 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 shin: Slow stewing breaks down connective tissue, leaving the meat tender and moist.
Onions: Add sweetness and aroma to the cooking liquor as they soften.
Carrots: Add sweetness and body to the stew liquor as they soften.
Flour: Thickens the sauce when browned in butter.

The step that matters

Keep the stew at a gentle simmer. A hard boil toughens meat proteins and makes the liquor cloudy, while slow gentle heat slowly softens the connective tissue and keeps the meat tender.

Swap the clove

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (beef, butter, flour, carrot, rice, onion, pepper):

Parsleyfits better
Turmericfits better
Celeryfits better
Clovethe original

Fit is the average pairing score against beef, butter, flour, carrot, rice, onion, 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.

Ingredient	Portion assumed	kcal
Flour	1 cup (125g) all-purpose	455
Beef	100g cooked	250
Butter	1 tbsp (14g)	102
Onion	1 medium (110g)	44
Carrot	1 medium (61g)	25
Clove	1 tsp ground (2g)	7
Black Pepper	1 tsp ground (2.3g)	6
Salt	1 tsp (6g)	0
Water	not in our table	0

To Stew Shin of Beef