Why it works: Parsley and thyme match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 9,057 recipes. Both carry cuminaldehyde, which smells Spicy, cumin. 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
Have the butcher prepare the ribs of beef, removing the bones if desired, and secure with twine.
Place the beef in a roasting pan on a bed of chopped onion, carrot, turnip, parsley, thyme, and bay leaves.
Roast
Do not add water to the pan; it will lower the temperature of the meat.
Do not season the beef until the surface is partially browned to prevent juice loss.
Roast in a preheated oven at 400°F (200°C) for 15 to 20 minutes per pound.
Baste with drippings and season when the meat is halfway done.
Serve
Keep the roast hot until served, and serve as soon as possible.
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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Parsley + thymetop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together9,057 recipes
Shared aroma: cuminaldehyde (Spicy, cumin).
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Carrot + parsleytop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together8,053 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).
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Carrot + turniptop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together8,002 recipes
Shared aroma: coumarin (sweet, hay).
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Turnip + parsleytop 2% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together2,842 recipes
Shared aroma: coumarin (sweet, hay).
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Carrot + thymetop 3% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together4,563 recipes
Shared aroma: cuminaldehyde (Spicy, cumin).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Ribs of beef
- Forms the main body of the roast, providing the meat that is cooked and served.
- Onion
- Sits under the beef as an aromatic base that flavours the pan drippings.
- Carrot
- Adds sweetness and aroma to the pan drippings as it cooks beneath the roast.
- Turnip
- Adds subtle sweetness and aroma to the pan drippings as it cooks beneath the roast.
The step that matters
Do not season the beef until the surface is partially browned. Salt drawn onto the surface before browning can pull out moisture, so juices may leak and the crust may brown less well. Waiting until the surface has begun to brown helps keep juices in the meat.
Swap the onion
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (beef, carrot, turnip, parsley, thyme):
- Parsnipfits better
- Leekfits better
- Shallotfits better
- Onionthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against beef, carrot, turnip, parsley, thyme. 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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