Name: Swedish Meatballs II
Ingredients: 1 1/2 lbs ground beef; 2 cups potatoes, peeled,cooked,and mashed; 1 small grated onion; 1/4 cup chopped peeled cooked beets; 2 tablespoons chopped dill pickles; 2 eggs; 1/2 cup light cream; 2 teaspoons salt (to taste); 1/4 teaspoon pepper (to taste); 4 tablespoons butter or margarine; 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour; 1 cup beef broth; 1 cup milk; 1/2 teaspoon worcestershire sauce; 1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg; hot cooked noodles

Why it works: Potato and dill work together. They rank in the top 3% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 423 recipes. Both carry 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine, which smells earthy, pea. The science ↓

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.

Potato + dilltop 3% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together423 recipes

Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
Potato + oniontop 3% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together9,023 recipes

Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
Dill + peppertop 4% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together1,630 recipes

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

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together17,092 recipes

Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
Beef + potatotop 8% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together2,052 recipes

Shared aroma: sotolon (curry, maple).

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

What each ingredient does

Ground beef: Forms the main body of the meatballs and provides savory meaty flavor.
Potatoes: Add moisture and softness, keeping the meatballs tender rather than dense.
Eggs: Bind the mixture so the meatballs hold their shape while cooking.
All-purpose flour: Thickens the pan drippings and broth into a smooth, cohesive gravy.
Light cream: Adds moisture and richness to the meatball mixture for a tender texture.
Beef broth: Forms the savory liquid base of the gravy.

The step that matters

Stirring the gravy as it thickens. Flour thickens liquid only when it is whisked into the fat and hot liquid smoothly; if it is not stirred constantly while cooking, it can clump and leave a lumpy, uneven gravy.

Swap the dill

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (beef, potato, onion, egg, cream, pepper, butter):

Parsleyfits better
Garlicfits better
Nutmegfits better
Dillthe original

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

“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.

Ingredient	Portion assumed	kcal
Flour	1 cup (125g) all-purpose	455
Beef	100g cooked	250
Potato	1 medium (173g) baked	161
Milk	1 cup (244ml) whole	149
Butter	1 tbsp (14g)	102
Egg	1 large egg (50g)	78
Cream	1 tbsp (15ml) heavy	51
Onion	1 medium (110g)	44
Beet	1/2 cup (85g)	35
Nutmeg	1 tsp ground (2.2g)	12
Soy Sauce	1 tbsp (15ml)	9
Black Pepper	1 tsp ground (2.3g)	6
Dill	5 sprigs fresh (1g) / 1 tsp dried	4
Salt	1 tsp (6g)	0

Swedish Meatballs II