Why it works: Vinegar and onion are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 14% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 18,226 recipes. Both carry acetic acid, which smells sour, vinegar. The science ↓
Collops
Ingredients
Directions
Heat a gentle fire until the thickening is a deep yellow brown.
Add the minced steak.
Keep it separated with a fork until hot.
Gradually pour in the boiling water and stew gently for 10 minutes.
Stir in catsup, chili vinegar, or lemon juice.
Add optional minced onion, eschalot, or garlic if desired.
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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Vinegar + oniontop 14% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together18,226 recipes
Shared aroma: acetic acid (sour, vinegar).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Rump steak
- Forms the main body of the patties and provides the meaty flavor and texture.
- Boiling water
- Adds moisture and loosens the mixture as it stews gently.
The step that matters
Keep the minced steak separated with a fork until hot. If the meat clumps together as it heats, it cooks unevenly, leaving some pieces grey and dry while others stay raw. Constant separating gives an even texture throughout.
“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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