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Beef Gravy

A savory gravy made by simmering beef pieces with onion, spices, and bread.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 8 ingredients
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Beef Gravy

Why it works: Allspice and pepper match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 5% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 6,395 recipes. Both carry estragole, which smells anise, licorice. The science ↓

Beef Gravy

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare

  1. Cut the beef into small pieces and dust with flour, mixing well.

  2. Place the beef in a saucepan and cover with water.

Cook the gravy

  1. Add the onion, allspice, pepper, and salt.

  2. Cover and bring to a boil, skimming off any scum.

  3. Add the bread crust or crumbs and let it stew until the gravy is rich.

  4. Strain the gravy and pour it into a sauceboat.

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.

  1. Allspice + peppertop 5% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together6,395 recipes

    Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).

  2. Beef + oniontop 7% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together17,092 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).

  3. Beef + peppertop 10% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together18,971 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).

  4. Onion + peppertop 11% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together68,474 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).

  5. Beef + meattop 12% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together2,533 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

Chuck or neck beef
Provides meat and connective tissue that break down during stewing to enrich the liquid.
Flour
Dusting the beef helps it brown and thickens the gravy as it cooks.
Bread crust or crumbs
Starch from the bread thickens the gravy and gives it body.
Onion
Adds savory sweetness and aroma to the stock as it cooks.

The step that matters

Skimming off the scum after the boil. Scum is coagulated protein and impurities that rise as the liquid heats. Removing it keeps the gravy clear and free of off flavours.

Swap the allspice

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (beef, flour, meat, onion, pepper, bread):

  1. Garlicfits better
  2. Thymefits better
  3. Turmericfits better
  4. Allspicethe original

Fit is the average pairing score against beef, flour, meat, onion, pepper, bread. 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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