Name: Peruvian Anticuchos
Ingredients: 3 x Aji or Jalapeno chiles, chopped, stems and seeds removed; 3 tbl Dried crushed red chiles (Piquin chiles) seeds included; 1 tbl Achiote (red seeds of Annatto tree, available in Latin markets, or in some spice areas of grocers); 1 1/2 tsp Cumin seeds; 2 tbl Olive oil; 4 x Cloves garlic, chopped; 3/4 cup Red wine vinegar; 1/2 tsp Salt; Fresh ground black pepper; 4 lb Beef heart, cut into 1" cubes (substitute sirloin or chicken breast)

Why it works: Cumin and garlic match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 5,082 recipes. Both carry beta-phellandrene, which smells minty, terpene. 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.

Cumin + garlictop 1% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together5,082 recipes

Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).
Jalapeno + cumintop 1% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together688 recipes

Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
Olive + garlictop 2% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together25,665 recipes

Shared aroma: linalool (floral, citrus).
Cumin + clovetop 4% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together1,306 recipes

Shared aroma: cuminaldehyde (Spicy, cumin).
Clove + peppertop 5% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together17,451 recipes

Shared aroma: ethyl octanoate (fruity, wine).

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

What each ingredient does

Beef heart: Provides the main meat for the skewers, which the marinade flavours and tenderises.
Aji or jalapeno chiles: Add heat and fresh chile flavour to the marinade.
Red wine vinegar: Adds acidity that brightens the marinade and helps tenderise the meat.
Garlic: Adds pungent aroma and savoury depth to the marinade.
Olive oil: Carries the annatto and cumin flavours and helps the marinade coat the meat.

The step that matters

Marinate overnight, refrigerated. Acid and enzymes in the marinade slowly penetrate the meat, so a full overnight rest in the fridge gives flavour and tenderness throughout. Keeping it cold prevents spoilage during the long soak.

Swap the jalapeno

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (cumin, olive, clove, garlic, red wine, vinegar, pepper):

Rosemaryfits better
Thymefits better
Oreganofits better
Jalapenothe original

Fit is the average pairing score against cumin, olive, clove, garlic, red wine, vinegar, pepper. 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
Beef	100g cooked	250
Chicken	100g cooked	165
Olive Oil	1 tbsp (14g)	119
Chili	1 tsp (2.7g)	8
Cumin	1 tsp ground (2.1g)	8
Black Pepper	1 tsp ground (2.3g)	6
Garlic	1 clove (3g)	4
Vinegar	1 tbsp (15ml) distilled	3
Salt	1 tsp (6g)	0
Seed	not in our table	0
Annatto	not in our table	0

Peruvian Anticuchos