Why it works: Cabbage and carrot are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 7% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 1,505 recipes. Both carry 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine, which smells earthy, pea. The science ↓
Braised Rump of Beef and Cabbage
Ingredients
Directions
Braised the beef as per the previous recipe.
Stew the cabbage until tender, then squeeze it dry in a cloth.
Form the cabbage into long rolls and cut them into 2-inch pieces.
Arrange the cabbage pieces upright around the meat.
Decorate with carrots and bacon cutouts stewed with the cabbage.
Serve with a good Spanish 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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Cabbage + carrottop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together1,505 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
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Beef + carrottop 10% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together6,606 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
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Beef + cabbagetop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together872 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
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Carrot + saucetop 24% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together2,509 recipes
Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
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Beef + saucetop 24% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together3,650 recipes
Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
Swap the cabbage
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (beef, carrot, sauce):
- Tomatofits better
- Turnipfits better
- Capsicumfits better
- Cabbagethe original
Fit is the average pairing score against beef, carrot, sauce. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.
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