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
Hang the sirloin of beef near the fire to roast.
Allow 20 minutes per pound for cooking time.
Baste the meat regularly to keep it tender.
When three-quarters cooked, stir the fire to make it burn bright.
Dredge the meat with flour and sprinkle with coarse sea salt.
Check for doneness by observing the steam direction.
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
What each ingredient does
- Sirloin of beef
- Forms the main meat, which roasts through and stays tender when basted.
- Flour
- Dusted on the surface, it helps form a crust that browns during roasting.
The step that matters
Judging doneness. Roasting time depends on the weight and thickness of the joint, so 20 minutes per pound is only a starting guide. Heat reaches the centre slowly, so checking doneness matters more than the clock.
“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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