Why it works: Beef and chicken match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 4% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 2,148 recipes. Both carry 2-furfurylthiol, which smells coffee, roasted. The science ↓
A Clear Broth
Ingredients
Directions
Make the broth
In a large pot, combine 1 lb of mutton, beef, calf's feet, eel, and water.
Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for several hours.
Strain the broth to remove solids.
Thicken and serve
Add 1 lb of tapioca, chicken, arrow root, and isinglass to the strained broth.
Simmer until the tapioca and arrow root are fully cooked.
Serve warm.
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 + chickentop 4% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together2,148 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-furfurylthiol (coffee, roasted).
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Mutton + beeftop 10% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together2,373 recipes
Shared aroma: trans-2-nonenal (cardboard, fatty).
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Mutton + chickentop 13% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together471 recipes
Shared aroma: 1-octen-3-ol (mushroom, earthy).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Calf's feet
- Their collagen dissolves into gelatin, giving the broth body and a silky mouthfeel.
- Beef
- Contributes deep, savory meat flavor as it simmers in the water.
- Chicken
- Adds a milder meaty flavor that rounds out the broth.
- Tapioca
- Its starch swells on cooking, thickening the broth and adding a light body.
- Arrow root
- A starch that thickens the broth as it cooks, giving a smooth texture.
- Isinglass
- A fish-derived gelatin that adds body and helps the broth set and look clear.
The step that matters
Simmer until the tapioca and arrow root are fully cooked. Starch granules only swell and thicken fully once heated long enough. Undercooked tapioca and arrow root leave the broth cloudy, grainy, or with a raw starchy taste.
“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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