Why it works: Ketchup and pepper are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 24% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 3,207 recipes. Both carry ethanol, which smells alcoholic, ethereal. The science ↓
Minced Steak
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare the steak
Place the steak on a board and remove the skin.
Chop the steak very finely.
Cook and serve
In a stew-pan, combine the chopped steak, water, pepper, and ketchup.
Place the pan over low heat and stir until just below boiling point; do not let it boil.
Serve immediately on a very hot plate.
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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Ketchup + peppertop 24% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together3,207 recipes
Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Steak
- Forms the main body of the dish, providing protein and savory meaty flavor.
- Ketchup
- Adds sweetness and acidity, giving the minced steak a tangy flavor.
- Water
- Adds moisture so the chopped steak stays tender while it warms.
The step that matters
Heating without boiling. Keeping the mixture just below boiling over low heat stops the meat proteins from tightening and toughening, so the minced steak stays tender and juicy rather than dry and grainy.
“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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