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A-LA-Mode Beef

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 9 ingredients
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Why it works: Marjoram and thyme match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 2,225 recipes. Both carry terpineol, which smells pine, woody. The science ↓

A-LA-Mode Beef

Ingredients

Directions

  1. Wash the cow-heel thoroughly in water.

  2. Cut off all the flesh from the cow-heel and cut it into neat pieces.

  3. Wash the ox-cheek well in cold water.

  4. Rub the ox-cheek with coarse sea salt.

  5. Dry the ox-cheek with a clean cloth.

  6. Melt 3 ounces of clarified dripping in a large saucepan over medium heat.

  7. Cut the ox-cheek into neat pieces.

  8. Weigh the flesh of the ox-cheek and cow-heel to determine the amount of water needed (1 pint per pound of meat).

  9. Flour each piece of meat.

  10. Once the dripping is melted, add the floured pieces of ox-cheek and fry until browned.

  11. Stir occasionally to prevent sticking.

  12. Wash, scrape, and slice the carrots.

  13. Peel and slice the onions.

  14. Wash and dry the parsley.

  15. Tie the marjoram, thyme, bay-leaf, and parsley together with string.

  16. Add the vegetables and herbs to the saucepan.

  17. Pour in the appropriate amount of water (1 pint per pound of meat).

  18. Mix 2 tablespoons of flour with a little water to make a smooth paste.

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.

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.

  1. Marjoram + thymetop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together2,225 recipes

    Shared aroma: terpineol (pine, woody).

  2. Thyme + parsleytop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together9,057 recipes

    Shared aroma: cuminaldehyde (Spicy, cumin).

  3. Marjoram + parsleytop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together1,979 recipes

    Shared aroma: cuminaldehyde (Spicy, cumin).

  4. Carrot + parsleytop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together8,053 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).

  5. Carrot + marjoramtop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together687 recipes

    Shared aroma: cuminaldehyde (Spicy, cumin).

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

Swap the onion

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (carrot, marjoram, thyme, parsley, flour, pepper):

  1. Parsnipfits better
  2. Turnipfits better
  3. Shallotfits better
  4. Onionthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against carrot, marjoram, thyme, parsley, flour, pepper. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.

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