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Pressed Beef

A baked dish of sliced beef layered with a creamy mashed potato mixture.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 7 ingredients
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Why it works: Butter and milk are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 7% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 81,283 recipes. Both carry (z)-4-heptenal, which smells biscuit, cream. The science ↓

Pressed Beef

Oven, in the book's wordsA good oven

Ingredients

Directions

The book says “a good oven”. The 350°F (175°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.

Prepare the beef

  1. Remove the weight from the round of beef and undo the bandage.

  2. Place the beef on a cold table, garnished with cresses.

  3. Cut the beef into thin horizontal slices.

Make and bake the casserole

  1. In a bowl, combine the cold mashed potatoes, melted butter, milk, and salt.

  2. Beat in the eggs until smooth and creamy.

  3. Pile the mixture into a baking dish and bake at 350°F (175°C) until lightly colored.

Recipe from a historical cookbook (Internet Archive).

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.

  1. Butter + milktop 7% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together81,283 recipes

    Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).

  2. Beef + potatotop 8% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together2,052 recipes

    Shared aroma: sotolon (curry, maple).

  3. Potato + milktop 9% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together3,611 recipes

    Shared aroma: (e,z)-2,6-nonadienal (cucumber, melon).

  4. Beef + milktop 12% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together3,759 recipes

    Shared aroma: 1-hexanal (fruit).

  5. Potato + buttertop 13% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together6,456 recipes

    Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

Round of beef
Forms the central meat that is sliced and served cold, giving the dish its main body.
Cold mashed potatoes
Provides bulk and a soft, starchy texture that holds the mixture together.
Eggs
Set as they heat, binding the mixture so it holds its shape when baked.
Milk
Adds moisture and softness, keeping the mixture creamy rather than dry.
Melted butter
Adds fat for richness and a smooth mouthfeel.

The step that matters

Bake until lightly colored. Eggs set as they heat, so the dish firms up in the oven. Overbaking drives off moisture and makes the mixture dry and rubbery, so watch for light color rather than letting it brown deeply.

“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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