Why it works: Onion and carrot are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 6% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 21,601 recipes. Both carry 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine, which smells earthy, pea. The science ↓
Broth in an Hour
Ingredients
Directions
In a stew-pan, combine beef, onions, carrots, bacon, and water.
Simmer for 15 minutes until they begin to stick to the bottom.
Add boiling water and salt, then boil for 45 minutes.
Strain the broth and serve.
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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Onion + carrottop 6% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together21,601 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
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Beef + oniontop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together17,092 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
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Beef + carrottop 10% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together6,606 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Lean beef
- Provides the main meaty flavor and dissolves savory compounds into the liquid as it cooks.
- Bacon
- Adds smoky, savory fat that enriches the broth's flavor.
- Onions
- Contribute sweetness and aromatic depth as they soften and release their flavor into the liquid.
- Carrots
- Add subtle sweetness and body to the broth's overall flavor.
The step that matters
Simmer the beef and vegetables before adding the boiling water. Starting the beef, onions, carrots and bacon in a small amount of water and simmering them until they begin to stick to the pan browns and concentrates their flavors. Adding too much liquid too early dilutes this base, so the broth tastes weaker.
Swap the carrot
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (beef, onion):
- Potatofits better
- Chivefits better
- Leekfits about as well
- Carrotthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against beef, onion. 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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