Segedin Goulash

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.

1. Caraway + flourtop 6% of all pairs
   Smell alikestrong
   Cooked together1,435 recipes

   Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).

2. Onion + carawaytop 13% of all pairs
   Smell alikemoderate
   Cooked together301 recipes

   Shared aroma: decanal (soap, orange peel).

3. Onion + flourtop 17% of all pairs
   Smell alikemoderate
   Cooked together32,460 recipes

   Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).

4. Onion + creamtop 18% of all pairs
   Smell alikelow
   Cooked together10,827 recipes

   Shared aroma: 2-nonanone (fruity, floral).

5. Flour + creamtop 20% of all pairs
   Smell alikemoderate
   Cooked together30,481 recipes

   Shared aroma: acetaldehyde (pungent, ethereal).

Onion and cream barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 10,827 recipes: they work on texture and structure more than aroma.

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

What each ingredient does

Sirloin

Provides the main meat, which becomes tender during the long, covered simmer.

Sauerkraut

Adds acidity and tang that balances the richness of the meat and sour cream.

Flour

Browned in lard and stirred in, it thickens the sauce to a rich, body-filled consistency.

Sour cream

Adds creaminess and a tangy richness to the finished sauce.

Onion

Softens and sweetens as it cooks, forming the flavor base of the dish.

The step that matters

Swap the onion

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (caraway, flour, cream):

1. Arrowrootfits better
2. Beetrootfits better
3. Shallotfits better
4. Onionthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against caraway, flour, cream. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.