Why it works: Beef and ham are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 15% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 1,729 recipes. Both carry 2-acetyl-1-pyrroline, which smells popcorn, roasted. The science ↓
Stock for Soups
Ingredients
Directions
Break the bones of the beef and cut the meat into pieces.
Add the bacon or ham and their bones to the beef.
Cover with water and simmer for several hours to extract flavor.
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 + hamtop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together1,729 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-acetyl-1-pyrroline (popcorn, roasted).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Ox-cheek
- Adds rich, gelatin-forming body and meaty flavor to the stock as it simmers.
- Shin or leg of beef
- Contributes bones and connective tissue that release flavor and body into the liquid.
- Lean bacon or ham
- Adds smoky, savory depth to the stock.
- Bacon or ham bones
- Release extra savory flavor and richness into the simmering liquid.
The step that matters
Simmer gently for several hours. A gentle simmer extracts flavor and gelatin slowly while keeping the stock clear. A hard boil emulsifies fats and clouds the liquid, and can make the meat tough and stringy.
“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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