Why it works: Thyme and parsley 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 ↓
Gravy
Ingredients
Directions
Make the stock
Fry the diced beef in a pan until nicely browned.
Add 1 quart of water and bring to a boil.
Reduce heat and simmer until the liquid is reduced by half.
Add peppercorns, thyme, and parsley.
Finish the gravy
Strain the gravy and let it cool to remove the fat.
Reheat the gravy, season if necessary, and thicken with cornflour mixed in cold water.
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.
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Thyme + parsleytop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together9,057 recipes
Shared aroma: cuminaldehyde (Spicy, cumin).
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Beef + thymetop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together3,051 recipes
Shared aroma: 1-octen-3-one (mushroom, metallic).
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Beef + parsleytop 16% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together5,866 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Neck of beef
- Browning and simmering release meaty flavour into the liquid that becomes the gravy.
- Cornflour
- Thickens the strained liquid into a smooth, glossy gravy when heated with cold water.
The step that matters
Thicken with cornflour mixed in cold water. Cornflour must be mixed with cold water first so it disperses evenly; added dry or to hot liquid it clumps. Starch thickens as it heats, so the gravy should be reheated gently while stirring.
Swap the parsley
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (beef, thyme):
- Marjoramfits better
- Rosemaryfits better
- Oreganofits about as well
- Parsleythe original
Fit is the average pairing score against beef, 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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