Why it works: Onion and potato are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 3% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 9,023 recipes. Both carry 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine, which smells earthy, pea. The science ↓
Delicious Baked Tongue
Ingredients
Directions
The book says “a rather slow oven”. The 300°F (150°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.
Prepare the tongue
Boil the tongue in salted water for one hour.
Place the tongue in a fireless cooker overnight.
Remove the gills from the tongue.
Sprinkle the tongue with salt and pepper.
Place the tongue in a roasting pan or large casserole.
Bake and serve
Mix the tomato juice, water, and chopped onion.
Pour the mixture around the tongue.
Bake at 300°F (150°C) for two hours.
Add the whole, peeled potatoes sprinkled with salt and pepper around the tongue.
Roast until the tongue is tender and brown.
Remove the cover to brown the potatoes if necessary.
Remove the tongue to a platter and surround it with potatoes.
Add one cup or more of water to the sauce.
Thicken the sauce with flour mixed with a little water.
Adjust seasoning if needed.
Pour a few tablespoons of gravy over the tongue.
Serve the rest separately.
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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Onion + potatotop 3% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together9,023 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
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Tomato + potatotop 5% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together2,798 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
-
Beef + oniontop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together17,092 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
-
Tomato + peppertop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together17,923 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
-
Beef + tomatotop 8% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together5,448 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Beef tongue
- Its long gentle cooking breaks down connective tissue, leaving the meat tender and sliceable.
- Tomato
- Adds acidity and body to the braising liquid, forming the base of the sauce.
- Onion
- Contributes savoury sweetness and aroma to the braising liquid.
- Potatoes
- Absorb the cooking juices and brown around the tongue, adding starch and substance.
- Flour
- Thickens the sauce into a smooth gravy as it is stirred into the liquid.
The step that matters
Thicken the sauce with flour mixed with a little water. Flour added dry or unmixed forms lumps; mixing it first with cold water lets the starch disperse evenly before it thickens the hot liquid.
Swap the tomato
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (beef, onion, potato, flour, pepper):
- Chivefits better
- Okrafits better
- Carrotfits better
- Tomatothe original
Fit is the average pairing score against beef, onion, potato, flour, pepper. 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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