Name: Beef and Barley Soup
Yield: Serves 4.
Ingredients: 3 cups water; 1 tsp. salt, plus more, to taste; 1/4 cup pearl barley; 2 Tbs. unsalted butter; 1 small yellow onion, chopped; 1/2 lb. button mushrooms, finely chopped; 4 cups beef stock, homemade (see related recipe at left) or purchased; 1/2 lb. boneless beef sirloin, cut into thin slices and then finely chopped; Freshly ground pepper, to taste

Why it works: Mushroom and beef are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 4% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 3,232 recipes. Both carry 2,4-nonadienal, which smells fatty, green. The science ↓

Beef and Barley Soup

Serves 4.

Ingredients

3 cups water
1 tsp. salt, plus more, to taste
1/4 cup pearl barley
2 Tbs. unsalted butter
1 small yellow onion, chopped
1/2 lb. button mushrooms, finely chopped
4 cups beef stock, homemade (see related recipe at left) or purchased
1/2 lb. boneless beef sirloin, cut into thin slices and then finely chopped
Freshly ground pepper, to taste

Directions

Step-by-step directions aren't available for this recipe. See the full recipe at the source →

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

610Calories

33 gProtein

28 gFat

58 gCarbs

Counts 7 of 8 ingredients. The other 1 aren't in our nutrition table and add nothing above, so the real totals are higher.

What these numbers assume: 7 portions

Ingredient	Portion assumed	kcal
Beef	100g cooked	250
Barley	1 cup cooked (157g)	193
Butter	1 tbsp (14g)	102
Onion	1 medium (110g)	44
Mushroom	1/2 cup sliced (35g)	15
Black Pepper	1 tsp ground (2.3g)	6
Salt	1 tsp (6g)	0
Water	not in our table	0

One typical portion per ingredient; the recipe's quantities are not counted. A rough guide only, not for medical or dietary planning.

By williamssonoma. Recipe from Open Recipes.

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.

Mushroom + beeftop 4% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together3,232 recipes

Shared aroma: 2,4-nonadienal (fatty, green).
Barley + mushroomtop 7% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together110 recipes

Shared aroma: ethyl octanoate (fruity).
Onion + beeftop 7% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together17,092 recipes

Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
Barley + beeftop 7% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together458 recipes

Shared aroma: 2-furfurylthiol (coffee, roasted).
Butter + mushroomtop 7% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together12,525 recipes

Shared aroma: trans-2-decenal (waxy, orange).

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

Swap the onion

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (barley, butter, mushroom, beef, pepper):

Potatofits better
Leekfits better
Asparagusfits about as well
Onionthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against barley, butter, mushroom, beef, pepper. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.

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