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Beef Broth

A clear beef broth made by simmering shank, veal knuckle, and water for several hours.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 3 ingredients
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Beef Broth

Why it works: Beef and veal are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 11% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 3,784 recipes. Both carry 2,6-nonadienal, which smells cucumber, green. The science ↓

Beef Broth

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare

  1. Cut the meat into small pieces.

  2. Place the meat in a stew pan and add the water, then let it stand for 1 hour.

Simmer

  1. Simmer for 6 hours or more.

  2. Bring to a boil and let it boil for 30 minutes.

Strain and finish

  1. Strain and set aside to cool.

  2. Remove the fat before serving.

  3. Add seasoning if desired.

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.

  1. Beef + vealtop 11% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together3,784 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2,6-nonadienal (cucumber, green).

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

What each ingredient does

Shank of beef
Connective tissue softens into gelatin during long simmering, giving the broth body and rich flavor.
Knuckle of veal
Bones and connective tissue release gelatin, adding body and mouthfeel to the broth.

The step that matters

Simmer for 6 hours or more. Long, slow heat gradually converts collagen in the meat and bones into gelatin, which gives the broth body. Keeping the liquid at a gentle simmer rather than a hard boil helps prevent cloudiness and excess emulsified fat.

“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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