Why it works: Onion and beef 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
4 servingsIngredients
Contains: milk, soy, fish, sesame (auto-detected from the ingredients and method; we can miss things, so check labels)
Directions
Method written by CompKitchen from the ingredient list. Not the original author's method, not kitchen-tested.
Preheat the broiler to high and set an oven rack about 6 inches (15 cm) from the heat.
Pour the condensed French onion soup into a small saucepan, stir in the Worcestershire sauce, and heat over medium until simmering, about 3 minutes. Add a splash of water if it is too thick to stir easily.
Add the thinly sliced roast beef to the soup and stir gently for about 2 minutes until heated through.
Split the hoagie rolls and place them cut side up on a baking sheet. Broil for about 1 minute until lightly toasted.
Divide the roast beef among the bottom halves of the rolls. Top each with provolone pieces and drained banana pepper rings.
Broil the open sandwiches for 1 to 2 minutes until the cheese melts. Close the rolls and serve with the warm soup for dipping.
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.
-
Onion + beeftop 3% of all pairsAroma overlapmoderateMentioned together17,091 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
-
Onion + sesametop 3% of all pairsAroma overlapstrongMentioned together2,192 recipes
Shared aroma: gamma-nonanolactone (coconut, sweet).
-
Beef + sesametop 5% of all pairsAroma overlapmoderateMentioned together392 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-furfurylthiol (coffee, roasted).
-
Beef + provolone cheesetop 7% of all pairsAroma overlapstrongMentioned together91 recipes
Shared aroma: ethyl 2-methylbutyrate (fruity, apple).
-
Onion + provolone cheesetop 8% of all pairsAroma overlapmoderateMentioned together181 recipes
Shared aroma: ethyl butyrate (apple, fruity).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
Flavor stand-ins for the banana
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (onion, sauce, beef, sesame, provolone cheese):
- Avocadobetter flavor fit
- Pumpkinbetter flavor fit
- Coconutbetter flavor fit
- Bananathe original
Fit is the average pairing score against onion, sauce, beef, sesame, provolone cheese. 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).
The Sunday pairing: one pairing, the chemistry behind it, and how to cook it. No spam, unsubscribe anytime.
Prefer an account? Create a free account for sign-in; Pro adds the full results and chemistry.