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Gravy, Jugged

A savory ham and beef gravy cooked slowly in a jar with vegetables and spices.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 12 ingredients
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Why it works: Parsley and marjoram match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 1,979 recipes. Both carry cuminaldehyde, which smells Spicy, cumin. The science ↓

Gravy, Jugged

Oven, in the book's wordsA moderate oven

Ingredients

Directions

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

Prepare

  1. Cut the ham and beef into small square pieces and place them in an earthen jar.

  2. Add the chopped vegetables and seasoning: carrot, onion, celery seed, mace, parsley, marjoram, thyme, peppercorns, and clove.

  3. Pour 1 quart of water over the ingredients and cover the jar tightly.

Cook and serve

  1. Place the jar in a 350°F (175°C) oven for 5 to 6 hours.

  2. After cooking, skim and strain the gravy before serving.

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. Parsley + marjoramtop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together1,979 recipes

    Shared aroma: cuminaldehyde (Spicy, cumin).

  2. Carrot + parsleytop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together8,053 recipes

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

  3. Carrot + celerytop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together10,173 recipes

    Shared aroma: myristicin (spice, warm).

  4. Carrot + marjoramtop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together687 recipes

    Shared aroma: cuminaldehyde (Spicy, cumin).

  5. Celery + parsleytop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together6,810 recipes

    Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).

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

What each ingredient does

Beef
Slow cooking breaks down the connective tissue in shin, giving the gravy body and a rich, tender meat.
Lean ham
Adds savory, salty flavor that deepens the overall taste of the gravy.
Onion
Contributes sweetness and aromatic depth as it softens during the long cook.
Carrot
Adds gentle sweetness and body to the liquid as it cooks down.

The step that matters

Covering the jar tightly. A tight seal keeps moisture from escaping during the 5 to 6 hour bake, so the liquid stays in the jar and concentrates into a flavorful gravy rather than evaporating.

Swap the mace

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (ham, beef, carrot, onion, celery, parsley, marjoram):

  1. Thymefits better
  2. Winter savoryfits better
  3. Tarragonfits better
  4. Macethe original

Fit is the average pairing score against ham, beef, carrot, onion, celery, parsley, marjoram. 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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