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Soup

Gravy Soup-grand Bouillon

A rich beef broth made with shin, ham, vegetables, herbs, and butter, simmered for hours.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 15 ingredients
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Why it works: Marjoram and thyme match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 2,225 recipes. Both carry terpineol, which smells pine, woody. The science ↓

Gravy Soup-grand Bouillon

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare the meat

  1. Chop the shin of beef into small pieces.

  2. Brown the beef and ham slightly in the butter.

Make the broth

  1. Add the browned meat to the cold water with a pinch of salt.

  2. Bring to a boil and skim off any scum that rises.

  3. Once no more scum rises, add all the other ingredients.

  4. Let the soup simmer gently for 6 hours.

  5. Remove from heat and take off as much fat as possible.

  6. Strain through a fine sieve.

Finish and serve

  1. When cold, remove any remaining fat, boil for 10 minutes, and serve.

  2. Optionally, add a little ketchup or Harvey sauce before serving.

Recipe from a historical cookbook (Internet Archive).

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.

  1. Marjoram + thymetop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together2,225 recipes

    Shared aroma: terpineol (pine, woody).

  2. Carrot + turniptop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together8,002 recipes

    Shared aroma: coumarin (sweet, hay).

  3. Marjoram + carrottop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together687 recipes

    Shared aroma: cuminaldehyde (Spicy, cumin).

  4. Clove + marjoramtop 2% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together1,075 recipes

    Shared aroma: cuminaldehyde (Spicy, cumin).

  5. Clove + thymetop 2% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together4,108 recipes

    Shared aroma: cuminaldehyde (Spicy, cumin).

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

Shin of beef
Gives the broth its main meaty flavour and body as it simmers.
Ham
Adds savoury, salty depth to the broth.
Carrots
Contribute natural sweetness and aromatic flavour to the broth.
Onions
Add sweetness and savoury depth when simmered slowly.
Butter
Fat used to brown the meat, building colour and roasted flavour.

The step that matters

Skimming the scum after the boil. Scum is coagulated protein and impurities; removing it while the broth heats keeps the soup clear and clean-tasting. Skimming during the first boil matters because it is easiest before the broth is fully simmering.

Swap the turnip

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (beef, ham, pepper, clove, marjoram, thyme, carrot):

  1. Parsnipfits about as well
  2. Turnipthe original
  3. Leekfits about as well
  4. Capsicumfits about as well

Fit is the average pairing score against beef, ham, pepper, clove, marjoram, thyme, carrot. 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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