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Soup Stock

A clear broth made from marrow bone, beef shin, vegetables, and herbs, simmered for hours.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 19 ingredients
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Soup Stock

Why it works: Thyme and marjoram match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 2,225 recipes. Both carry terpineol, which smells pine, woody. The science ↓

Soup Stock

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare

  1. Wipe and cut the marrow bone and half of the shin beef into small pieces.

  2. In a kettle, combine the bones, half the meat, cold water, thyme, marjoram, summer savory, sage, parsley, and celery. Let stand for 30 minutes.

  3. Dredge the remaining meat with pepper, salt, and flour.

  4. In a pan, fry the dredged meat in a little hot drippings until browned.

  5. Add the fried meat to the kettle along with the finely chopped onion, carrot, turnip, and cabbage.

Simmer and strain

  1. Bring the mixture to a boil slowly and boil for 10 minutes without skimming.

  2. Reduce heat and simmer for 6 to 7 hours, then strain the stock.

Chill and serve

  1. Set aside until cold, then remove the fat. Heat the stock and season to taste before serving.

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.

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.

  1. Thyme + marjoramtop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together2,225 recipes

    Shared aroma: terpineol (pine, woody).

  2. Thyme + summer savorytop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together214 recipes

    Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).

  3. Marjoram + sagetop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together507 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-hexenal (green, leafy).

  4. Marjoram + summer savorytop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together125 recipes

    Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).

  5. Summer savory + sagetop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together237 recipes

    Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).

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

What each ingredient does

Marrow bone
Releases collagen and minerals into the water, giving the stock body and richness during long simmering.
Shin beef
Adds meaty flavor to the stock, and the dredged portion browns for deeper savory taste.
Flour
Coats the meat so it browns well in the drippings and slightly thickens the surrounding liquid.
Onion
Contributes sweetness and aromatic depth as it softens in the simmering liquid.
Carrot
Adds subtle sweetness and color to the stock as it cooks.
Turnip
Adds mild sweetness and earthy background flavor to the stock.

The step that matters

Fry the dredged meat until browned. Browning drives Maillard reactions that build deep, roasted savory flavor. Pale meat yields a flatter stock, so the pieces need enough hot fat and space in the pan.

Swap the clove

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (thyme, marjoram, summer savory, sage, parsley, celery, beef):

  1. Winter savoryfits better
  2. Rosemaryfits better
  3. Tarragonfits better
  4. Clovethe original

Fit is the average pairing score against thyme, marjoram, summer savory, sage, parsley, celery, beef. 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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