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 ↓
To Make Stock
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare
Cut the beef or veal into pieces no larger than 2 inches square.
Cut the ham into small pieces, removing any rind.
Place the meat, onions, turnip, carrot, and celery into a 2-gallon pot.
Make the stock
Pour in 5 quarts of cold water and bring to a boil.
Skim off any foam, then reduce heat to a gentle simmer for 6 hours.
Strain the stock through a colander, returning the meat and vegetables to the pot.
Add 4 quarts of hot water and boil for an additional 4 hours.
Strain both stocks through a scalded cloth and combine in a large pot.
Reduce and finish
Boil uncovered until reduced to 3 pints, stirring occasionally.
Transfer to a small saucepan and boil slowly, stirring frequently, until reduced to about 1 quart and thickened.
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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Carrot + celerytop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together10,173 recipes
Shared aroma: myristicin (spice, warm).
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Turnip + carrottop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together8,002 recipes
Shared aroma: coumarin (sweet, hay).
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Turnip + celerytop 2% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together4,418 recipes
Shared aroma: coumarin (sweet, hay).
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Clove + carrottop 5% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together5,873 recipes
Shared aroma: cuminaldehyde (Spicy, cumin).
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Onion + turniptop 5% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together7,585 recipes
Shared aroma: coumarin (sweet, hay).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Beef or veal knuckle
- Releases gelatin and savory flavor into the stock as it simmers for hours.
- Onions
- Add sweetness and aromatic depth to the finished stock.
- Lean ham
- Contributes savory, smoky flavor to the stock.
- Celery
- Adds aromatic, vegetal flavor to the stock.
- Carrot
- Adds subtle sweetness and body to the stock.
The step that matters
Skimming the foam after the first boil. Foam carries impurities and proteins that can make the stock cloudy and off-flavored, so skimming early keeps the long simmer clean and clear.
Swap the clove
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (beef, ham, onion, turnip, carrot, celery):
- Parsleyfits better
- Thymefits better
- Marjoramfits better
- Clovethe original
Fit is the average pairing score against beef, ham, onion, turnip, 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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