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Gravy Soup

A clear soup made from bones, vegetables, herbs, and Liebig Extract.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 8 ingredients
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Why it works: Carrot and turnip match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 8,002 recipes. Both carry coumarin, which smells sweet, hay. The science ↓

Gravy Soup

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare

  1. Chop the bones and place them in a saucepan with the water.

  2. Bring to a boil and remove any scum.

Simmer and finish

  1. Add the chopped vegetables, herbs, and seasoning.

  2. Boil for two hours.

  3. When nearly done, stir in the Liebig Extract.

  4. Strain the soup and serve.

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.

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. Carrot + turniptop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together8,002 recipes

    Shared aroma: coumarin (sweet, hay).

  2. Turnip + oniontop 5% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together7,585 recipes

    Shared aroma: coumarin (sweet, hay).

  3. Carrot + peppertop 6% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together14,555 recipes

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

  4. Carrot + oniontop 6% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together21,601 recipes

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

  5. Turnip + peppertop 10% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together5,252 recipes

    Shared aroma: coumarin (sweet, hay).

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

Bones
Release gelatin and flavor into the water during long simmering, giving the soup body.
Carrot
Adds sweetness and aroma as it softens and releases its sugars into the broth.
Turnip
Contributes mild sweetness and earthy flavor to the simmering broth.
Onion
Adds savory depth and aroma as its sugars and compounds develop during boiling.
Liebig company’s extract
Concentrated meat extract that intensifies savory, beefy flavor in the finished soup.

The step that matters

Removing the scum. Scum rising during the first boil contains coagulated proteins and impurities. Skimming it early keeps the broth clear and prevents off flavors from dispersing through the soup.

Swap the onion

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (carrot, turnip, pepper):

  1. Parsnipfits better
  2. Leekfits better
  3. Beetrootfits better
  4. Onionthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against carrot, turnip, pepper. 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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