Why it works: Sugar and molasses are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 11% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 9,225 recipes. Both carry ethanol, which smells alcoholic, ethereal. The science ↓
To Pickle Beef or Tongues
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare the brine
Wipe the beef well to remove blood and moisture.
In a pot, mix the coarse sea salt, fine salt, saltpetre, brown sugar, and molasses.
Boil the mixture for 20 minutes, skimming off any scum that rises. Once no more scum appears, remove the pot from the heat.
Cure the beef
Place the beef in a large tub or barrel and gradually pour the brine over it, rubbing it into the meat as it cools.
Cover the meat with a thick cloth and check it frequently, skimming off any floating residue and basting the meat with brine.
After about two weeks, the beef will be ready for use.
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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Sugar + molassestop 11% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together9,225 recipes
Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
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Beef + molassestop 35% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together606 recipes
Shared aroma: furaneol (caramel, strawberry).
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Beef + sugartop 37% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together5,435 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Fine salt
- Draws out moisture and seasons the meat while helping preserve it during curing.
- Coarse sea salt
- Draws out moisture and seasons the meat slowly as it dissolves into the brine.
- Saltpetre
- Helps the meat keep its red colour during curing.
- Brown sugar
- Balances the saltiness and adds mild sweetness and flavour to the brine.
- Molasses
- Adds depth, colour and sweetness to the brine.
The step that matters
Skimming the boiled brine. Scum rising during boiling is impurities from the meat and sugars. Removing it until none appears keeps the brine clear and reduces off-flavours and spoilage risk during the long cure.
“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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