Why it works: Pepper and flour are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 19% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 50,459 recipes. Both carry isobutyraldehyde, which smells malty, green. The science ↓
Pot Roast
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare and brown
Wipe the meat with a damp cloth and place it in an iron pot.
Season the meat with coarse sea salt and black pepper.
Set the pot over medium heat and brown the meat slowly for about 20 minutes, turning often.
Braise
Once browned, add ½ cup of boiling water, cover the pot, and reduce the heat to cook slowly.
As the water evaporates, add more water, ½ cup at a time.
Cook for 15 minutes per pound for tender meat, or up to 30 minutes for tougher cuts.
When the meat is cooked, remove it from the pot.
Make gravy and serve
Add a little water to the pot to make gravy.
Thicken the gravy with flour mixed with a little water and serve in a sauce boat.
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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Pepper + flourtop 19% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together50,459 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Meat + peppertop 19% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together8,777 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).
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Meat + flourtop 28% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together5,529 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Meat
- Slow cooking breaks down connective tissue, turning tough cuts tender and juicy.
- Flour
- Starch thickens the cooking liquid into a smooth gravy when mixed with water first.
- Boiling water
- Forms the braising liquid that keeps the meat moist and makes the base for the gravy.
The step that matters
Keep the heat low and add water gradually. A gentle, steady simmer breaks down connective tissue slowly. High heat boils off the liquid quickly and can leave the meat dry and tough, so topping up with water helps keep it moist.
“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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