Why it works: Pepper and flour are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 19% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 50,459 recipes. Both carry isobutyraldehyde, which smells malty, green. The science ↓
To Roast Meats in a Dutch Oven
Ingredients
Directions
Pour about 1 inch of water into the Dutch oven and season with salt and pepper to create gravy for basting.
Make a mop by tying a clean rag to the end of a stick.
Remove the lid frequently and baste the roast with the gravy to prevent it from drying out.
When the meat is done, remove it to a dish.
Add a pinch of flour to the gravy to thicken it, then pour over the roast.
If the roast is thick or tough, parboil it in a kettle for 30 minutes to 1 hour before roasting.
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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Pepper + flourtop 19% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together50,459 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
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