Why it works: Beans and tomato match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 2,713 recipes. Both carry 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine, which smells earthy, pea. The science ↓
Brunswick Stew
Ingredients
Directions
In the morning, place the shank in a pot with water to make soup.
At noon, remove the shank, shred the meat, and discard the bones and gristle.
Return the shredded meat to the pot and add the mashed potatoes, butter beans, corn, and tomatoes.
Season with salt and pepper to taste.
Just before serving, stir in 2-3 tablespoons of butter.
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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Beans + tomatotop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together2,713 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
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Beans + corntop 3% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together1,211 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,3-pentanedione (butter, sweet).
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Potato + corntop 5% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together938 recipes
Shared aroma: (e)-2-octenal (fatty, green).
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Potato + beanstop 5% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together655 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isobutyl-3-methoxypyrazine (green bell pepper, earthy).
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Potato + tomatotop 5% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together2,798 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
- Beef shank
- Provides rich meat flavor and shredded meat that gives the stew body.
- Potatoes
- Mashed into the broth, they thicken the stew and add body.
- Butter beans
- Add creamy texture and substance to the stew.
- Corn
- Adds sweetness and a fresh, tender bite.
- Tomatoes
- Add acidity and brightness that balance the rich meat and butter.
- Butter
- Stirred in at the end, it adds richness and a silky finish.
The step that matters
Stirring in the butter just before serving. Butter added at the end stays fresh in flavor and gives a smooth, glossy finish. If it is added early, it can separate and become greasy during long simmering.
“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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