Why it works: Beef and pepper are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 10% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 18,971 recipes. Both carry 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine, which smells earthy, pea. The science ↓
Beef Stock
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare
Place the beef in a pot or digester and cover with water.
Make the stock
Bring to a simmer, skimming off any foam that forms.
Add pot herbs and season with salt and pepper.
Simmer until the meat is tender.
Strain and store
Strain the liquid through a fine sieve and store in a covered container.
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.
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Beef + peppertop 10% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together18,971 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Lean beef
- Provides the meat flavor and gelatin-rich body that the stock carries.
- Water
- Extracts flavor and soluble compounds from the beef during long simmering.
- Pot herbs
- Add aromatic flavor to the stock as it simmers.
The step that matters
Skimming the foam. Foam is coagulated protein and impurities that rise as the liquid heats. Removing it keeps the stock clear and avoids a murky, off-tasting result.
“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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