Why it works: Beef and tomato are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 8% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 5,448 recipes. Both carry 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine, which smells earthy, pea. The science ↓
Braised Beef
Ingredients
Directions
The book says “a hot oven”. The 400°F (200°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.
Braise the beef
Combine stock or gravy with boiling water in a pot.
Cover the pot tightly.
Cook the beef for one hour.
Add more stock or water if needed.
Dredge the cooked beef with flour.
Transfer the beef to a pan.
Brown and baste
Place the pan in a 400°F (200°C) oven.
Baste the beef with butter‑water as it browns.
After 10 minutes, strain the gravy.
Remove the fat from the gravy.
Thicken and serve
Mix 1 tablespoon of flour and 1 teaspoon of tomato ketchup into the gravy in a saucepan.
Boil the mixture until thickened.
Pour half of the gravy over the beef.
Serve the remaining gravy in a gravy boat.
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.
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.
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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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Flour + buttertop 12% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together124,287 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Flour + ketchuptop 13% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together2,435 recipes
Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
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Beef + buttertop 16% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together10,847 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-furfurylthiol (coffee, roasted).
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Butter + tomatotop 22% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together6,918 recipes
Shared aroma: 3-hexenal (apple, fruity).
Flour and butter barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 124,287 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
- Forms the main body of the dish, becoming tender through long, moist cooking.
- Flour
- Dredging coats the beef for browning, and stirred into the gravy it thickens the sauce.
- Stock or gravy
- Provides the liquid that braises the beef and forms the base of the sauce.
- Butter
- Basting adds fat that helps the surface brown and gives it richer flavour.
- Tomato ketchup
- Adds a little sweetness and acidity to the gravy, deepening its flavour.
The step that matters
Thickening the gravy after skimming. Flour needs to boil for it to thicken fully and lose its raw taste. Stirring it in smoothly before boiling prevents lumps and gives a glossy, even sauce.
Swap the tomato
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (beef, flour, butter, ketchup):
- Shallotfits better
- Leekfits better
- Chivefits better
- Tomatothe original
Fit is the average pairing score against beef, flour, butter, ketchup. 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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