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
Make the base
Place the shank of beef in a large pot and cover with water to make a soup base.
Cook the shank for several hours until tender, then remove it from the pot.
Shred the meat, discarding any bones and gristle, and return it to the pot.
Add the vegetables and finish
Add the mashed potatoes, butter beans, corn, and chopped tomatoes to the pot.
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.
-
Beans + tomatotop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together2,713 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
-
Beans + corntop 3% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together1,211 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,3-pentanedione (butter, sweet).
-
Potato + corntop 5% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together938 recipes
Shared aroma: (e)-2-octenal (fatty, green).
-
Potato + beanstop 5% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together655 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isobutyl-3-methoxypyrazine (green bell pepper, earthy).
-
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 the meat and rich flavor that form the body of the stew.
- Potatoes
- Mashed into the broth, they add body and thicken the stew.
- Butter beans
- Add starchy substance and a creamy texture to the stew.
- Corn
- Adds sweetness and a pop of texture to the stew.
- Tomatoes
- Add acidity and brightness that balance the rich meat and starch.
- Butter
- Stirred in at the end, it adds richness and a silky mouthfeel.
The step that matters
Cook the shank until tender. Beef shank is rich in connective tissue that only breaks down into gelatin with long, slow cooking. If it is rushed, the meat stays tough and the broth lacks body.
“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.
You might also like
Tomato Soup526 recipes
Brown Bread461 recipes
Potato Croquettes255 recipes
Roast Beef211 recipesThe free Flavor Lab newsletter: one surprising pairing a week and the molecular reason it works, in 60 seconds. No spam, unsubscribe anytime.
Prefer an account? Create a free account to save pairings and unlock the full chemistry.