Why it works: Beef and mushroom are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 4% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 3,232 recipes. Both carry 2,4-nonadienal, which smells fatty, green. The science ↓
To Broil Beef Steaks
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare
Trim the beef steaks from the tender rump of beef.
Heat the gridiron until hot but not burning.
Wipe the gridiron with fresh mutton suet.
Season the steaks lightly with pepper.
Broil and serve
Place the steaks on the gridiron and broil for 8 to 10 minutes, turning once.
Catch any juices that drain from the steaks in a dish.
Serve immediately on hot plates.
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 + mushroomtop 4% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together3,232 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,4-nonadienal (fatty, green).
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Mushroom + buttertop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together12,525 recipes
Shared aroma: trans-2-decenal (waxy, orange).
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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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Beef + muttontop 10% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together2,373 recipes
Shared aroma: trans-2-nonenal (cardboard, fatty).
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Pepper + mushroomtop 11% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together13,580 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Beef steaks
- Provide the meat that is browned and cooked through over direct heat.
- Fresh mutton suet
- Greases the gridiron so the steaks do not stick and fat helps surface browning.
The step that matters
Heat the gridiron until hot but not burning. A very hot, clean surface sears the steak quickly and forms a browned crust, while a scorched surface leaves burnt bits and an acrid taste on the meat.
“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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