Why it works: Beef and pepper are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 10% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 18,971 recipes. Both carry 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine, which smells earthy, pea. The science ↓
Beef Tea
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare
Chop the beef into small pieces.
Pour the cold water over the beef.
Simmer
Cover and place before the fire for 2 hours.
Boil for 1 hour.
Remove all scum and oil.
Finish
Add salt and pepper to taste.
Pour off the liquid but do not strain.
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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Beef + peppertop 10% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together18,971 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
- Lean beef
- Releases its flavor and body into the liquid during long, gentle cooking.
The step that matters
Remove all scum and oil. Scum and fat rise to the surface as the liquid heats. Skimming them off keeps the broth clear and stops it tasting greasy or muddy.
“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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