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Preserve

Beef Pudding

A steamed beef pudding made with kidney, beefsteak, onion, spices, and beef stock, encased in a paste crust.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 9 ingredients
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Why it works: Pepper and clove match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 5% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 17,451 recipes. Both carry ethyl octanoate, which smells fruity, wine. The science ↓

Beef Pudding

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare

  1. Line a pudding mould with a good paste crust.

  2. Scald and skin the beef kidney, then cut it into small pieces.

  3. Chop the onion finely.

  4. Slice the tender beefsteak.

  5. Season the meat with cayenne pepper, coarse sea salt, and a pinch of cloves.

Fill and steam

  1. Put the mixture into the mould.

  2. Add the beef stock.

  3. Cover the pudding with the crust.

  4. Place the cover on the mould.

  5. Set the mould into a steamer.

  6. Steam for two to three hours, depending on the size.

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. Pepper + clovetop 5% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together17,451 recipes

    Shared aroma: ethyl octanoate (fruity, wine).

  2. Beef + oniontop 7% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together17,092 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).

  3. Beef + peppertop 10% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together18,971 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).

  4. Onion + peppertop 11% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together68,474 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).

  5. Onion + clovetop 13% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together16,901 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-nonanone (fruity, floral).

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

What each ingredient does

Beef kidney
Gives the filling its rich, meaty flavour and a firm, chewy texture when cooked.
Beefsteak
Adds tender pieces of meat that stay juicy during long steaming.
Beef stock
Provides moisture so the filling stays succulent and forms its own gravy as it steams.
Onion
Adds savoury sweetness and aroma that deepens as the filling cooks.
Paste crust
Forms a sealed pastry case that holds in steam and juices during long cooking.

The step that matters

Steam for two to three hours, depending on the size. Steaming gently and for long enough breaks down the connective tissue in the kidney and steak, making them tender. Too short a time leaves the meat tough, while the crust must stay sealed so moisture is retained.

Swap the clove

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (beef, onion, pepper):

  1. Garlicfits better
  2. Thymefits better
  3. Celeryfits better
  4. Clovethe original

Fit is the average pairing score against beef, onion, 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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