Why it works: Meat and flour are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 28% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 5,529 recipes. Both carry isobutyraldehyde, which smells malty, green. The science ↓
Roasting Meat
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare a clear, hot fire.
Heat the roasting pan near the fire.
Place the meat close to the fire for 10 minutes to sear the outside.
Move the meat back and cook more slowly.
Baste the meat often.
Cook beef and mutton for 15 minutes per pound, plus 15 minutes extra; for thick pieces, 20 minutes per pound, plus 15 minutes extra.
For veal and pork, cook for 20 minutes per pound, plus 15 minutes extra; for thick pieces, 25 minutes per pound, plus 15 minutes extra.
Once cooked, place the meat on a hot dish, pour off the drippings, and add boiling water or stock to the pan, scraping up sediment.
If desired, dredge in a little flour, cook for a few minutes, season, strain, and pour the gravy around the meat.
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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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
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