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Broth or Consomm^

A clear broth made from beef shin, veal knuckle, onions, and garlic.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 6 ingredients
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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 ↓

Broth or Consomm^

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare

  1. Tie the shin of beef with string to keep it together.

  2. Place the beef and veal in a stock pot with the stock made from bones, adding a quart of cold water if needed.

  3. If no stock is available, use 4 quarts of cold water and add 1 tablespoon of salt.

Simmer and skim

  1. Heat the pot until it nearly boils, skimming off the scum frequently.

  2. Add about ½ cup of cold water at intervals to help the scum rise.

  3. Peel the onions, stick 3 cloves into each, and add them to the stock pot.

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. Beef + oniontop 7% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together17,092 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).

  2. Beef + vealtop 11% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together3,784 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2,6-nonadienal (cucumber, green).

  3. Onion + clovetop 13% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together16,901 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-nonanone (fruity, floral).

  4. Veal + oniontop 17% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together6,841 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).

  5. Beef + clovetop 18% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together5,462 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

Shin of beef
Provides rich meat flavor and gelatin from connective tissue that gives the broth body.
Veal knuckle or leg
Adds bones and connective tissue that release gelatin, giving the broth a fuller body.
Onions
Contribute sweetness and aromatic depth to the broth as they cook.
Cloves
Add a warm, aromatic spice note that flavors the broth.

The step that matters

Skimming the scum. Heating gently and skimming frequently removes coagulated proteins and impurities that would otherwise cloud the broth and affect its flavor. Adding cold water helps these particles rise to the surface so they can be removed.

Swap the clove

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (beef, veal, onion):

  1. Garlicfits better
  2. Celeryfits better
  3. Pepperfits better
  4. Clovethe original

Fit is the average pairing score against beef, veal, onion. 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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