Why it works: Beef and meat are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 12% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 2,533 recipes. Both carry 1-octen-3-one, which smells mushroom, metallic. The science ↓
Soup Stock
yield about 3 quartsIngredients
Directions
Make the stock
Add the beef, beefsteak, and meat bones to a large pot.
Pour in 6 quarts of water and cover tightly.
Boil gently all day.
Strain the stock at night and let it cool.
Finish the stock
The next day, skim the fat from the top.
If the stock is not a thick jelly, boil it longer until it thickens.
Yield about 3 quarts of rich jelly.
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.
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Beef + meattop 12% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together2,533 recipes
Shared aroma: 1-octen-3-one (mushroom, metallic).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Beef shin
- Collagen in the connective tissue breaks down into gelatin, giving the stock body and a jelly-like set.
- Meat bones
- Release gelatin and minerals during long simmering, adding body and deep flavor to the stock.
- Beefsteak
- Adds concentrated beef flavor and savory depth to the stock.
The step that matters
Boiling gently all day. A hard boil emulsifies fat into the liquid and clouds the stock, while a gentle simmer keeps it clear. Slow, steady heat gives collagen time to convert into gelatin, which is what makes the stock thicken.
“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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