Why it works: Parsley and pepper match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 2% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 34,122 recipes. Both carry 4'-methylacetophenone, which smells bitter almond. The science ↓
Savoury Minced Collops
Ingredients
Directions
Make the roux
In a pan, melt the butter and stir in the flour to make a thickening.
Cook until it begins to brown, then add the parsley, salt, and pepper.
Stir over gentle heat until the mixture is a deep yellow-brown.
Cook the collops
Add the minced steak and separate it with a fork until heated through.
Gradually pour in the boiling water and stew gently for 10 minutes.
Before serving, stir in catsup, chili vinegar, or lemon juice to taste.
Optionally, add minced onion, eschalot, or garlic at the beginning for extra flavor.
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.
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Parsley + peppertop 2% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together34,122 recipes
Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).
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Parsley + oniontop 9% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together25,843 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).
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Pepper + oniontop 11% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together68,474 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
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Butter + flourtop 12% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together124,287 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Flour + parsleytop 12% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together16,675 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
Butter and flour barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 124,287 recipes: they work on texture and structure more than aroma.
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Butter
- Melts with the flour to form the base of the thickening and adds richness.
- Flour
- Thickens the cooking liquid and, once browned, gives the sauce a nutty colour and flavour.
- Rump steak
- Provides the main meat, which stays tender when gently stewed in the sauce.
- Catsup, chili vinegar, or lemon juice
- Adds acidity at the end to brighten the flavour of the rich, savory sauce.
The step that matters
Browning the roux. Stirring the butter and flour until a deep yellow-brown develops toasty flavour and colour, but over-high heat can scorch the flour and make the sauce bitter. Gentle heat and constant stirring keep it even.
Swap the onion
The recipe marks onion as optional. How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (butter, flour, parsley, pepper, vinegar):
- Shallotfits better
- Chivefits better
- Capsicumfits better
- Onionthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against butter, flour, parsley, pepper, vinegar. 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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