Why it works: Corn and beef are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 11% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 1,028 recipes. Both carry 2-nonenal, which smells fatty, green. The science ↓
Savoury Custard
Ingredients
Directions
Mix the corn-flour with a little water to form a smooth paste.
Add the beef tea or broth to the paste.
Stir over heat for five minutes.
Season with salt 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.
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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Corn + beeftop 11% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together1,028 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
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Corn + flourtop 13% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together6,165 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Flour + beeftop 25% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together10,677 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
Flour and beef barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 10,677 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
- Corn-flour
- Thickens the broth into a smooth custard as its starch swells when heated.
- Beef tea or broth
- Provides the liquid base and savoury flavour of the custard.
The step that matters
Stir over heat for five minutes. Corn-flour must be stirred continuously while heating so its starch swells evenly without lumps. Once it thickens, the starch gelatinises and the custard sets as it cools.
“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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