Why it works: Beef and pepper are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 10% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 18,971 recipes. Both carry 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine, which smells earthy, pea. The science ↓
Canning Meat
Ingredients
Directions
Do not expose meat to air; prepare it as soon as it is cold after killing.
Remove all bone, gristle, and inferior pieces; cut meat into thin pieces.
In a Mason jar, add a little salt, pepper, and a dash of saltpetre at the bottom.
Layer meat in the jar, sprinkling with seasoning between layers; fill to within an inch of the top.
Press layers down firmly to eliminate air spaces; use more seasoning on the top layer.
Fill the jar with heated lard until it runs smoothly.
Cover with a paper bag and store in a cool, dark place.
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 + peppertop 10% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together18,971 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
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Meat + beeftop 12% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together2,533 recipes
Shared aroma: 1-octen-3-one (mushroom, metallic).
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Meat + peppertop 19% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together8,777 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
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