Why it works: Beef and sugar are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 37% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 5,435 recipes. Both carry beta-damascenone, which smells apple, rose. The science ↓
Corned Beef
Ingredients
Directions
Make the brine
Mix the coarse sea salt, saltpetre, sugar, and water together.
Pour the mixture over the beef in a tub.
Cover the tub tightly.
Prepare the beef
Remove all veins from the beef.
Sprinkle the beef with salt and let it sit for 30 minutes.
Wash off the salt and soak the beef in cold water for 30 minutes.
Drain the beef and place it in the pickle as directed.
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.
-
Beef + sugartop 37% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together5,435 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Beef
- The main cut that the brine cures and turns into corned beef.
- Coarse sea salt
- Draws out moisture and seasons the meat during curing.
- Saltpetre
- Helps the meat keep its pink colour during curing.
- Sugar
- Balances the saltiness and adds a mild sweetness to the meat.
The step that matters
Wash off the salt and soak the beef in cold water. Soaking removes surface salt so the corned beef is not overly salty. Skipping or shortening the soak leaves the meat too salty for a balanced flavour.
“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.
More corned beef recipes
You might also like
Roast Beef211 recipes
Beef Loaf175 recipes
Beef Broth67 recipes
Beef Croquettes58 recipesThe free Flavor Lab newsletter: one surprising pairing a week and the molecular reason it works, in 60 seconds. No spam, unsubscribe anytime.
Prefer an account? Create a free account to save pairings and unlock the full chemistry.