Why it works: Pepper and nutmeg match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 7% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 13,015 recipes. Both carry 4'-methylacetophenone, which smells bitter almond. The science ↓
To Make a Pasty of Beef or Mutton
Ingredients
Directions
The book says “a slow oven”. The 300°F (150°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.
Prepare the meat
Beat the meat well with a rolling pin.
Rub the meat with sugar and pour port and vinegar over it.
Let the meat marinate for five days and nights.
Wash and dry the meat thoroughly, then season it with pepper, Jamaica pepper, nutmeg, and salt.
Assemble and bake
Place the meat in a dish and spread butter over it.
Create a crust around the edges and cover with a thick top crust.
Bake in a slow oven at 300°F (150°C).
Make the gravy
Set the bones in a pan with just enough water to cover them and add a glass of port, pepper, and salt.
Bake the bones to create a rich gravy to add to the pasty.
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 + nutmegtop 7% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together13,015 recipes
Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).
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Beef + peppertop 10% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together18,971 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
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Port wine + vinegartop 11% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together598 recipes
Shared aroma: 4-ethyl-2-methoxyphenol (smoky, clove).
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Port wine + buttertop 13% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together1,499 recipes
Shared aroma: ethyl octanoate (fruity, wine).
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Beef + port winetop 13% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together626 recipes
Shared aroma: sotolon (curry, maple).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Beef or mutton
- Provides the main body of the pasty, and long hanging helps tenderise the meat.
- Sugar
- Balances the sharpness of the marinade and aids browning.
- Port wine
- Adds depth and aroma to the meat during marinating and to the gravy.
- Vinegar
- Acidity in the marinade helps soften the meat's fibres.
- Butter
- Adds richness and moisture to the meat and pastry.
The step that matters
Marinating the meat for five days. Acid from the vinegar works slowly on the meat's connective tissue, so the full time is needed for tenderness. Too short a marinade leaves the meat tough, while the vinegar's acidity is strong enough to affect texture over long periods.
Swap the nutmeg
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (beef, sugar, port wine, vinegar, butter, pepper):
- Cinnamonfits better
- Tarragonfits better
- Clovefits about as well
- Nutmegthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against beef, sugar, port wine, vinegar, butter, pepper. 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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