Why it works: Meat and pepper are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 19% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 8,777 recipes. Both carry 2,4-decadienal, which smells seaweed. The science ↓
Stock for Soups
Ingredients
Directions
Make the stock
Combine meat, bone, water, salt, and pepper in a pot.
Boil slowly for 1 hour per pound of meat.
Skim off any scum that rises to the surface.
Strain the stock into a stone crock when done.
Store and serve
Once cold, remove the layer of fat that forms on top.
If storing for several days, leave the fat on until ready to use.
Reheat thoroughly before serving, adding different flavorings and vegetables for variety.
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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Meat + peppertop 19% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together8,777 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
- Meat and bone
- Release flavor, gelatin and body into the water during long, slow simmering.
- Water
- Acts as the solvent that extracts flavor and gelatin from the meat and bone.
The step that matters
Skim off the scum. Scum is coagulated protein and impurities that rise as the liquid heats. Removing it keeps the stock clear and clean-tasting rather than cloudy or bitter.
“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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