Why it works: Carrot and celery match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 10,173 recipes. Both carry myristicin, which smells spice, warm. The science ↓
Ox-tail Soup
Ingredients
Directions
The book gives no cooking times; the times in the steps were added in transcription, so check for doneness rather than trusting the clock.
Prepare
Cut the ox tails into pieces.
In a large pot, add the ox tails, onion, carrots, celery, bay leaf, and peppercorns.
Simmer
Cover with water and bring to a boil.
Reduce heat and simmer for 3-4 hours until the meat is tender.
Strain and serve
Strain the soup, discarding solids, and season with coarse sea salt to taste.
Serve hot.
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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Carrot + celerytop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together10,173 recipes
Shared aroma: myristicin (spice, warm).
-
Onion + carrottop 6% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together21,601 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
-
Onion + celerytop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together18,518 recipes
Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Ox tails
- Provide the meat and collagen that become tender and give the broth body and richness.
- Onion
- Adds aromatic sweetness and savory depth to the broth as it simmers.
- Carrots
- Contribute natural sweetness and flavor to the broth.
- Celery
- Adds aromatic, savory flavor to the broth.
The step that matters
Simmer gently until the meat is tender. A rolling boil toughens meat proteins and can cloud the broth. Keeping the liquid at a gentle simmer lets collagen slowly break down into gelatin, which gives tender meat and a fuller-bodied soup.
Swap the onion
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (carrot, celery):
- Parsnipfits better
- Turnipfits better
- Leekfits better
- Onionthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against carrot, celery. 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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