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Ox-Cheek Soup

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 12 ingredients
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Ox-Cheek Soup

Why it works: Carrot and parsnip match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 1,097 recipes. Both carry 2-isobutyl-3-methoxypyrazine, which smells green bell pepper, earthy. The science ↓

Ox-Cheek Soup

Ingredients

Directions

  1. In a large stewpan, melt the butter and lay the fleshy side of the beef cheek downwards.

  2. Add the sliced ham, celery, onions, carrots, parsnip, and mace.

  3. Cook over moderate heat for 15 minutes.

  4. Pour in 4 quarts of water and simmer until reduced to 2 quarts.

  5. For soup, strain the mixture, add small pieces of the white part of celery, and browning sauce.

  6. Scald the vermicelli, add it to the soup, and boil for 10 minutes.

  7. Serve in a tureen with the crust of a French roll.

  8. For stew, keep the beef cheek whole, add boiled turnip and carrot pieces, and toasted bread.

  9. Strain the soup over the stew and season with Cayenne pepper.

Recipe from a historical cookbook (Internet Archive).

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.

Photo for illustrative purposes only · Contact us to use it

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.

  1. Carrot + parsniptop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together1,097 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-isobutyl-3-methoxypyrazine (green bell pepper, earthy).

  2. Celery + carrottop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together10,173 recipes

    Shared aroma: myristicin (spice, warm).

  3. Celery + parsniptop 3% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together561 recipes

    Shared aroma: myristicin (spice, warm).

  4. Onion + carrottop 6% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together21,601 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).

  5. Celery + oniontop 7% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together18,518 recipes

    Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

Swap the mace

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (butter, ham, celery, onion, carrot, parsnip, sauce):

  1. Parsleyfits better
  2. Thymefits better
  3. Capersfits better
  4. Macethe original

Fit is the average pairing score against butter, ham, celery, onion, carrot, parsnip, sauce. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.

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