Name: Corned Beef
Ingredients: 1 gallon of water; 1 pint of coarse sea salt; 2 large tablespoons of molasses; 1 teaspoon of saltpetre (size of a small hickorynut); meat (beef)

Why it works: Meat and beef are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 12% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 2,533 recipes. Both carry 1-octen-3-one, which smells mushroom, metallic. The science ↓

Corned Beef

Ingredients

1 gallon of water
1 pint of coarse sea salt
2 large tablespoons of molasses
1 teaspoon of saltpetre (size of a small hickorynut)
meat (beef)

Directions

Heat the water until it is warm.
Add the coarse sea salt, molasses, and saltpetre, stirring until the salt is dissolved.
Pour the mixture over the meat in a stone jar.

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.

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.

Meat + beeftop 12% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together2,533 recipes

Shared aroma: 1-octen-3-one (mushroom, metallic).
Molasses + beeftop 35% of all pairs

Smell alikelow

Cooked together606 recipes

Shared aroma: furaneol (caramel, strawberry).
Molasses + meattop 37% of all pairs

Smell alikelow

Cooked together441 recipes