Name: A LA Mode Beef
Ingredients: 2 pounds beef; 4 medium potatoes; 2 cups mixed vegetables; 1 cup suet; 1 pie crust; cheese for serving

Why it works: Beef and potato are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 8% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 2,052 recipes. Both carry sotolon, which smells curry, maple. The science ↓

A LA Mode Beef

Ingredients

Directions

The book gives no oven temperature. The 350°F (175°C) in the steps was added when the recipe was transcribed, as a starting point.

Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C).
Brown the beef in a large pot.
Add chopped potatoes and mixed vegetables.
Cover and simmer until the beef is tender.
Prepare the suet pudding according to your recipe.
Serve the beef with the vegetables and suet pudding.
Offer cheese on the side.

Recipe from a historical cookbook (Internet Archive).

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.

Photo for illustrative purposes only · Contact us to use it

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.

Beef + potatotop 8% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together2,052 recipes

Shared aroma: sotolon (curry, maple).
Beef + cheesetop 15% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together1,193 recipes

Shared aroma: 12-methyltridecanal (tallowy, beefy).
Potato + cheesetop 15% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together959 recipes

Shared aroma: sotolon (curry, maple).