Name: Corned Beef
Ingredients: corned beef; butter; cucumber pickle

Why it works: Beef and butter are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 16% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 10,847 recipes. Both carry 2-furfurylthiol, which smells coffee, roasted. The science ↓

Corned Beef

Ingredients

corned beef
butter
cucumber pickle

Directions

Cook the beef

Boil the corned beef in plenty of hot water for at least 15 minutes per pound.
Save the pot liquor and set it in a cool place.

Make the sauce

Make drawn butter using the pot liquor and stir in chopped cucumber pickle.
Serve the drawn butter in a sauceboat.

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.

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.

Beef + buttertop 16% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together10,847 recipes

Shared aroma: 2-furfurylthiol (coffee, roasted).
Beef + cucumbertop 19% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together576 recipes

Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
Butter + cucumbertop 24% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together2,185 recipes

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

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

What each ingredient does

Corned beef: Is the main protein, cooked by simmering in hot water until tender.
Butter: Forms the base of the drawn butter sauce, adding richness and a smooth, flowing texture.
Cucumber pickle: Adds acidity and a crisp, sharp bite that cuts through the richness of the butter.