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 ↓
Roast Beef
Ingredients
Directions
The book gives no oven temperature. The 400°F (200°C) in the steps was added when the recipe was transcribed, as a starting point.
Prepare the roast
Preheat the oven to 400°F (200°C).
Dust the beef roast with flour and season with salt and pepper.
Place the roast in a dripping pan with enough water to cover the bottom.
Turn the pan often to ensure even roasting and baste frequently.
Roast for 15 minutes per pound for rare meat.
Bake leftovers
If there are leftovers, slice the meat thinly and dip each slice in flour.
Layer the sliced meat in a baking dish, sprinkling with onions, salt, and pepper.
Add layers of sliced or canned tomatoes, alternating with the meat.
Moisten with gravy, top with tomatoes, and fill with boiling water.
Cover with a plate and bake for 2 hours.
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 + oniontop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together17,092 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
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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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Onion + tomatotop 8% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together20,633 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
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Beef + peppertop 10% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together18,971 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 roast
- Provides the main meat, which becomes tender and browns as it roasts.
- Flour
- Dusting helps the surface brown and lightly thickens the juices.
- Onions
- Add savory sweetness and aroma as they soften in the baking dish.
- Tomatoes
- Add moisture and acidity that brighten the layered leftover meat.
The step that matters
Turning and basting the roast. Turning the pan often gives even roasting, and basting keeps the surface moist so it browns evenly rather than drying out. Uneven heat or dry spots can leave parts of the roast overcooked while others stay underdone.
Swap the onion
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (beef, flour, pepper, tomato):
- Capsicumfits better
- Okrafits better
- Carrotfits better
- Onionthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against beef, flour, pepper, tomato. 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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