Why it works: Bread and butter are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 7% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 27,232 recipes. Both carry delta-decalactone, which smells sweet, creamy. The science ↓
Beef Loaf
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.
Mix and shape
Grind the round steak.
In a large bowl, combine the ground steak, bread crumbs, eggs, milk, butter, salt, and pepper, then mix everything well with your hands.
Shape the mixture into a loaf.
Bake
Bake in a moderate oven at 350°F (175°C) until browned on top.
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.
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Bread + buttertop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together27,232 recipes
Shared aroma: delta-decalactone (sweet, creamy).
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Milk + buttertop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together81,283 recipes
Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).
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Bread + milktop 11% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together11,466 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-undecenal (sweet).
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Bread + eggtop 13% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together22,662 recipes
Shared aroma: (e)-2-octenal (fatty, green).
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Bread + peppertop 16% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together20,964 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Round steak
- Provides the meaty base and most of the loaf's structure and flavor.
- Bread crumbs
- Soak up milk and keep the loaf moist and tender instead of dense.
- Eggs
- Bind the mixture so the loaf holds its shape when sliced.
- Milk
- Adds moisture that keeps the cooked loaf juicy.
- Butter
- Adds fat for richness and a softer, more tender bite.
The step that matters
Mixing the meat. Mix just until the ingredients are evenly combined. Overworking ground meat develops its proteins and makes the loaf tough and dense.
“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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