Why it works: Pepper and parsley match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 2% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 34,122 recipes. Both carry 4'-methylacetophenone, which smells bitter almond. The science ↓
Beef Steak
Ingredients
Directions
Cook the steak
Preheat your broiler or a flat iron skillet over medium-high heat.
Rub a small amount of fat on the skillet to prevent sticking.
Place the steak on the skillet and cook without piercing it.
Turn the steak when it begins to cook, avoiding piercing to retain juices.
Do not season while cooking; wait until the steak is nearly done.
Make the butter and serve
Melt the butter in a tin cup on the stove and mix in salt, pepper, and chopped parsley if desired.
Warm the serving platter and pour some melted butter on it.
Transfer the steak to the platter and pour the remaining melted butter over it.
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.
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Pepper + parsleytop 2% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together34,122 recipes
Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).
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Butter + parsleytop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together28,563 recipes
Shared aroma: trans-2-hexenal (green, leafy).
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Butter + peppertop 21% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together85,593 recipes
Shared aroma: trans-2-nonenal (cardboard, fatty).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Steak
- Its thickness and fat give the meat juiciness and a seared, browned crust when cooked over high heat.
- Butter
- Adds richness and moisture, coating the finished steak with flavour and fat.
The step that matters
Turning the steak without piercing it. Piercing lets juices escape, which dries the meat. Turning with tongs and avoiding forks keeps the juices inside, so the steak stays moist and tender.
“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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