Why it works: Parsley and lemon match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 14,037 recipes. Both carry beta-phellandrene, which smells minty, terpene. The science ↓
Rump Steaks
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare the steaks
Cut the rump steaks to a good thickness.
Broil the steaks over a clear coal fire, seasoning with salt and pepper.
Make the sauce
In a saucepan, combine chopped parsley, fresh butter, cullis, lemon pickle, and ketchup.
Simmer the sauce until reduced by half, then pour it over the steaks.
Serve
Place the cooked steaks on a dish.
Arrange fried potatoes cut in slices around the dish.
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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Parsley + lemontop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together14,037 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).
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Pepper + parsleytop 2% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together34,122 recipes
Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).
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Pepper + lemontop 3% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together27,047 recipes
Shared aroma: trans-2-nonenal (cardboard, fatty).
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Parsley + buttertop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together28,563 recipes
Shared aroma: trans-2-hexenal (green, leafy).
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Butter + lemontop 16% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together41,227 recipes
Shared aroma: 3-hexenal (apple, fruity).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Rump steaks
- Form the main body of the dish and provide the meat that is broiled and served.
- Fresh butter
- Adds richness and a smooth, glossy body to the sauce.
- Cullis
- Gives the sauce concentrated body and savoury depth as it reduces.
- Lemon pickle
- Adds sharp acidity that cuts through the richness of the butter and meat.
- Ketchup
- Contributes sweetness and tomato acidity, deepening the sauce's flavour.
The step that matters
Simmer the sauce until reduced by half. Reducing concentrates flavour and thickens the liquid by evaporating water. Stopping too early leaves the sauce thin and dull, while over-reducing makes it salty and sticky, so watch it closely.
“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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