Why it works: Pepper and parsley match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 2% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 34,122 recipes. Both carry 4'-methylacetophenone, which smells bitter almond. The science ↓
Beef Salad
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare
Remove all fat from the beef and cut it into thin pieces, about 1½ inches long.
Dress and serve
In a bowl, season the beef with salt, pepper, parsley, vinegar, and sweet oil. Mix all ingredients well together.
Arrange the mixture in a salad bowl and decorate with pickles or beets. Serve immediately.
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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Pepper + parsleytop 2% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together34,122 recipes
Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).
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Potato + parsleytop 5% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together2,855 recipes
Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).
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Beef + potatotop 8% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together2,052 recipes
Shared aroma: sotolon (curry, maple).
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Pepper + potatotop 9% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together8,305 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
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Beef + peppertop 10% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together18,971 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Beef
- Provides the main protein and substance of the salad.
- Potatoes
- Add starch and body, bulking out the salad with a soft texture.
- Vinegar
- Adds acidity that brightens the flavour and sharpens the dressing.
- Sweet oil
- Adds fat and moisture, coating the beef and carrying flavour.
- Pickles or beets
- Provide sharp or sweet flavour and a colourful garnish.
Swap the potato
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (beef, pepper, parsley, vinegar):
- Carrotfits better
- Capsicumfits better
- Shallotfits about as well
- Potatothe original
Fit is the average pairing score against beef, pepper, parsley, vinegar. 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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