Why it works: Parsley and thyme match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 9,057 recipes. Both carry cuminaldehyde, which smells Spicy, cumin. The science ↓
Hamburg Steaks
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare
Chop the steak finely and mix it with salt, onion extract, pepper, parsley, and optional herbs.
Form the mixture into small steaks using your hands.
Cook and serve
Melt the butter in a frying pan over medium heat.
Add the steaks to the pan and cook slowly until halfway done.
Flip the steaks and cook the other side until fully done.
Serve with brown or mushroom sauce.
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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Parsley + thymetop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together9,057 recipes
Shared aroma: cuminaldehyde (Spicy, cumin).
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Pepper + parsleytop 2% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together34,122 recipes
Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).
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Pepper + thymetop 4% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together11,585 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).
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Onion + thymetop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together11,171 recipes
Shared aroma: coumarin (sweet, hay).
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Onion + parsleytop 9% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together25,843 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Round steak
- Provides the main body of the patty, with chopped meat holding its shape when formed and cooked.
- Butter
- Adds fat for richness and helps the outside of the steaks brown in the pan.
- Salt
- Seasons the meat and helps dissolve proteins so the patties hold together better.
The step that matters
Cooking slowly until halfway done, then flipping. Cooking over medium heat rather than high lets the centre cook through without scorching the outside. Flipping only once helps the steaks keep their shape and brown evenly.
“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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