Why it works: Flour and ketchup are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 13% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 2,435 recipes. Both carry ethanol, which smells alcoholic, ethereal. The science ↓
Beef Steak Stewed in Its Own Gravy
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare
Trim all fat and skin from the steak and cut it into pieces.
Dip the steak in cold water and let it drain briefly.
Sprinkle both sides with pepper and coat thickly with flour.
Cook
Place the steak flat in a well-tinned iron saucepan with 1 tablespoon of cold water.
Cook over a very gentle fire, simmering for 1.5 to 1.75 hours until tender.
Add salt when it begins to boil and turn the steak when more than half done.
Stir in gravy, ketchup, and a slight seasoning of spice for added 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.
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.
-
Flour + ketchuptop 13% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together2,435 recipes
Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
-
Pepper + flourtop 19% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together50,459 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
-
Pepper + ketchuptop 24% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together3,207 recipes
Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Rump steak
- Provides the meat that becomes tender during long, gentle simmering.
- Flour
- Coats the steak and thickens the cooking liquid as it sets.
- Gravy
- Adds savory meaty flavor and moisture to the stew.
- Ketchup
- Adds sweetness and acidity that rounds out the sauce.
The step that matters
Cook over a very gentle fire. Gentle simmering lets collagen in the steak slowly break down into tender meat. A hard boil toughens the muscle fibers and can dry the meat out, so keep the liquid barely bubbling.
“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.
More beef stew recipes
You might also like
Tomato Soup526 recipes
Brown Bread461 recipes
Mutton Broth292 recipes
Yorkshire Pudding264 recipesThe free Flavor Lab newsletter: one surprising pairing a week and the molecular reason it works, in 60 seconds. No spam, unsubscribe anytime.
Prefer an account? Create a free account to save pairings and unlock the full chemistry.