Why it works: Beef and onion are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 7% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 17,092 recipes. Both carry 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine, which smells earthy, pea. The science ↓
Beef Galantine
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare the meat
Remove any skin from the meat and cut it into small pieces.
Pass the meat through a mincing machine 2 or 3 times with the ham or bacon.
Shape and cook
Add the onion, seasoning, and egg; mix well.
Shape the mixture into a thick roll and tie it in a well-greased cloth.
Plunge the roll into boiling stock, then reduce the heat and cook gently for about 2 hours.
Remove the cloth and tie the roll in a dry cloth.
Cover with a plate and a slight weight to press the meat.
Finish and serve
When completely cold, brush with glaze and garnish with lettuce or cress and tomatoes.
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 + oniontop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together17,092 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
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Beef + peppertop 10% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together18,971 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
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Pepper + oniontop 11% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together68,474 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
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Beef + eggtop 31% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together8,305 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
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Pepper + eggtop 33% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together50,580 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
Pepper and egg barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 50,580 recipes: they work on texture and structure more than aroma.
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Lean beef
- Forms the main body of the roll and gives it its meaty texture.
- Egg
- Binds the minced mixture so it holds together when sliced.
The step that matters
Gentle simmering of the roll. Boiling vigorously can toughen the meat and break the roll apart. Keeping the stock just below a boil cooks the protein gently, producing a tender, firm texture.
Swap the onion
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (beef, pepper, egg):
- Capsicumfits better
- Asparagusfits better
- Spinachfits better
- Onionthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against beef, pepper, egg. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.
“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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