Why it works: Meat and flour are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 28% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 5,529 recipes. Both carry isobutyraldehyde, which smells malty, green. The science ↓
Observations on Meats
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare a clear fire and maintain a uniform heat by adding small amounts of coal.
For large joints, start roasting far from the fire and gradually move closer as it cooks.
Baste the meat well, sprinkle with coarse sea salt, and dredge with flour when three-quarters cooked.
Avoid adding flour too late to prevent it from burning and affecting the flavor.
If washing the meat, do not soak it for too long unless it is frost-bitten; soak for 1-2 hours before cooking.
Cook the meat for 15 minutes per pound, adding extra time for larger joints.
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.
-
Meat + flourtop 28% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together5,529 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
You might also like
Green Corn Pudding64 recipes
Cornmeal mush12 recipesThe free Flavor Lab newsletter: one surprising pairing a week and the molecular reason it works, in 60 seconds. No spam, unsubscribe anytime.
Prefer an account? Create a free account to save pairings and unlock the full chemistry.