Why it works: Meat and cream are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 24% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 2,248 recipes. Both carry 1-octen-3-one, which smells mushroom, metallic. The science ↓
Broth
Ingredients
Directions
Make the broth
Place the meat in a pot and cover with water.
Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer.
Skim off any impurities to keep the broth clear.
Finish
If desired, add cereals for nourishment.
For variety, stir in a tablespoon of cream per half pint of broth before serving.
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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Meat + creamtop 24% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together2,248 recipes
Shared aroma: 1-octen-3-one (mushroom, metallic).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Meat
- Releases flavour and body into the water as it simmers slowly.
- Water
- Acts as the cooking liquid that extracts flavour from the meat.
- Cereals
- Adds starch that slightly thickens the broth and gives it more body.
- Cream
- Adds richness and a smoother, rounder mouthfeel to the finished broth.
The step that matters
Skim off any impurities. Proteins and fats that rise to the surface during simmering form foam and scum. If left in, they cloud the broth and can make it taste muddy or bitter. Removing them early keeps the liquid clear and clean-flavoured.
“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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