Why it works: Beef and onion are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 7% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 17,092 recipes. Both carry 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine, which smells earthy, pea. The science ↓
Escalloped Meat
Ingredients
Directions
The book says “a moderate oven”. The 350°F (175°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.
Prepare the beef
Boil pieces of roast beef until tender.
Let the beef cool.
Strain out all fat.
Chop the meat finely.
Season the meat with coarse sea salt and black pepper.
Make the tomato mixture
Cook 1 quart of canned tomatoes with 1 sliced onion for 30 minutes.
Strain the mixture.
Add the tomato juice to the seasoned meat.
Mix in 1 pint of bread or cracker crumbs.
Assemble and bake
Butter a baking dish.
Layer the bottom with moistened crumbs.
Add a layer of seasoned meat.
Add a layer of crumbs and stock.
Add another layer of meat.
Dot the top with bits of butter.
Bake in a moderate oven at 350°F (175°C) for 45 minutes.
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.
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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Beef + oniontop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together17,092 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
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Bread + buttertop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together27,232 recipes
Shared aroma: delta-decalactone (sweet, creamy).
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Pepper + tomatotop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together17,923 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
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Beef + tomatotop 8% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together5,448 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
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Tomato + oniontop 8% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together20,633 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
- Roast beef
- Provides the main meat, which is chopped finely so it spreads evenly between the layers.
- Canned tomatoes
- Adds moisture and acidity that soften the crumbs and brighten the meat.
- Onion
- Adds savory aroma and mild sweetness as it cooks down with the tomatoes.
- Bread or cracker crumbs
- Absorb the liquid and hold the layers together, giving the dish body.
- Butter
- Adds richness and fat that helps the top brown in the oven.
The step that matters
Add the tomato juice to the seasoned meat. Crumbs absorb liquid as they bake, so the amount of juice set against the meat and crumbs decides whether the dish turns out moist or dry and firm.
Swap the onion
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (beef, pepper, tomato, bread, butter):
- Capsicumfits better
- Potatofits about as well
- Onionthe original
- Carrotfits about as well
Fit is the average pairing score against beef, pepper, tomato, bread, butter. 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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