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A Bianc

A cooking liquor made by simmering bacon fat, beef suet, butter, lemon juice, vegetables and water, then straining it for use.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 10 ingredients
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Why it works: Beef and onion are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 3% of all ingredient pairs, and 17,091 recipes mention both. Both carry 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine, which smells earthy, pea. The science ↓

The recipe

Ingredients

Contains: milk (auto-detected from the ingredients and method; we can miss things, so check labels)

Directions

  1. In a stewpan, combine the grated bacon, diced beef suet, butter, lemon juice, bay leaves, cloves, diced carrots, diced onions, and water.

  2. Simmer gently, stirring often, until the fat is melted and the water has evaporated.

  3. Boil gently until all ingredients have released their flavor.

  4. Skim off any impurities, add salt if needed, and strain for use.

  5. Add more liquid as needed for the dish you will cook in the blanc.

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 aroma chemistry they share, and how many recipes mention both.

  1. Beef + oniontop 3% of all pairs
    Aroma overlapmoderate
    Mentioned together17,091 recipes

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

  2. Clove + carrottop 3% of all pairs
    Aroma overlapstrong
    Mentioned together4,916 recipes

    Shared aroma: cuminaldehyde (Spicy, cumin).

  3. Carrot + oniontop 4% of all pairs
    Aroma overlapstrong
    Mentioned together21,599 recipes

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

  4. Beef + carrottop 5% of all pairs
    Aroma overlapstrong
    Mentioned together6,604 recipes

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

  5. Lemon + carrottop 5% of all pairs
    Aroma overlapstrong
    Mentioned together3,350 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).

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

What each ingredient does

Fat bacon
Melts into the liquid to add rich, savory fat and meaty flavor.
Beef suet
Adds solid fat that renders slowly, giving body and richness to the liquor.
Butter
Contributes extra fat and a smooth, rounded mouthfeel.
Lemon juice
Adds acidity that brightens the fatty flavors and balances richness.
Onions
Release sweetness and aromatic depth as they cook slowly in the fat.

The step that matters

Simmer gently until the water has evaporated. Gentle heat lets the fats melt and flavors release without scorching the onions, carrots, or fat. Stirring often prevents sticking and burnt flavor on the bottom of the pan, which would taint the liquor.

Flavor stand-ins for the lemon

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (beef, butter, clove, carrot, onion):

  1. Orangebetter flavor fit
  2. Grapebetter flavor fit
  3. Applebetter flavor fit
  4. Lemonthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against beef, butter, clove, carrot, onion. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes. This compares flavor only: it does not check the job the ingredient does in the dish (bulk, moisture, acidity, structure).

“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.