Why it works: Allspice and clove match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 7,874 recipes. Both carry estragole, which smells anise, licorice. The science ↓
Beef-tea
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare
Place the beef in a strong bottle or wide-mouthed jar.
If desired, add allspice and cloves before boiling.
Cook
Submerge the jar in a vessel of cold water and secure it with a weight on top.
Cork the jar tightly and bring the water to a boil.
Boil for 3 to 4 hours.
Finish
Pour off the liquid and season with salt.
Skim off any grease that rises to the 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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Allspice + clovetop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together7,874 recipes
Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).
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Beef + clovetop 18% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together5,462 recipes
Shared aroma: cuminaldehyde (Spicy, cumin).
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Beef + allspicetop 19% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together1,940 recipes
Shared aroma: eucalyptol (eucalyptus, herbal).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Lean beef
- Provides the meat whose flavor and juices are extracted into the liquid.
- Coarse sea salt
- Seasons the finished liquid, bringing out its savory beef flavor.
The step that matters
Keep the jar tightly corked and submerged. A tight cork and water bath keep the beef and its juices from escaping and let gentle heat extract flavor slowly. If the water boils dry or the jar leaks, the liquid can be lost or scorched.
Swap the allspice
The recipe marks allspice as optional. How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (beef, clove):
- Cinnamonfits about as well
- Allspicethe original
- Nutmegfits less well
- Gingerfits less well
Fit is the average pairing score against beef, clove. 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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