Why it works: Beef and flour are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 25% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 10,677 recipes. Both carry isobutyraldehyde, which smells malty, green. The science ↓
Sirloin of Beef
Ingredients
Directions
The book says “a sharp oven”. The 400°F (200°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.
Choose a sirloin cut that is evenly sized from bone end to flank end.
Preheat the oven to 400°F (200°C).
Place the beef in the hot oven for the first 15 minutes to seal the meat.
Reduce the heat to 350°F (175°C) and cook for about 15 minutes per pound.
Baste the meat continually.
Strain off the drippings and thicken with flour and water or brown sauce.
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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Beef + flourtop 25% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together10,677 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
Beef and flour barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 10,677 recipes: they work on texture and structure more than aroma.
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
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