Name: Beef Gulyas
Ingredients: 3 slices bacon, diced; 1 1/2 pounds beef chuck, cut into 1-inch cubes; 2 cups chopped onions; 1 14-1/2- to 16-ounce can tomatoes (2 cups), drain; reserve juice; 1 cup beef broth, divided; 1/2 cup dry red wine; 1 tablespoon paprika; Salt and ground black pepper to taste; 1 bay leaf; 1 to 2 whole cloves; 1 cup sliced carrots; 2 tablespoons cornstarch; 3 cups hot cooked rice

Why it works: Pepper and clove match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 5% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 17,451 recipes. Both carry ethyl octanoate, which smells fruity, wine. 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.

Pepper + clovetop 5% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together17,451 recipes

Shared aroma: ethyl octanoate (fruity, wine).
Clove + carrottop 5% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together5,873 recipes

Shared aroma: cuminaldehyde (Spicy, cumin).
Pepper + carrottop 6% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together14,555 recipes

Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
Tomato + carrottop 6% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together3,606 recipes

Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
Onion + carrottop 6% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together21,601 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 chuck: Slow simmering breaks down connective tissue, leaving the meat tender and rich.
Bacon: Its rendered fat carries flavor into the pot before the meat browns.
Onions: Softened and browned, they add sweetness and body to the sauce.
Tomatoes: They add acidity and moisture that give the goulash its base flavor.
Cornstarch: Starch thickens the cooking liquid into a glossy, spoonable sauce.
Paprika: Provides the signature sweet, earthy red color and aroma of the dish.

The step that matters

Add the cornstarch slurry and cook briefly. Cornstarch must be blended with cold broth first so it does not clump, then simmered a few minutes so the starch swells and thickens the sauce fully.

Swap the onion

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (beef, tomato, red wine, pepper, clove, carrot, rice):

Capsicumfits better
Potatofits better
Turnipfits about as well
Onionthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against beef, tomato, red wine, pepper, clove, carrot, rice. 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
Rice	1 cup cooked (158g) white	206
Onion	1 medium (110g)	44
Bacon	1 slice cooked (8g)	43
Wine	2 tbsp cooking wine (30ml)	25
Carrot	1 medium (61g)	25
Tomato	1 medium (123g)	22
Clove	1 tsp ground (2g)	7
Black Pepper	1 tsp ground (2.3g)	6
Bay Leaf	1 leaf (0.6g)	2
Salt	1 tsp (6g)	0

Beef Gulyas

Beef Gulyas

Ingredients

Directions

Make the goulash

Serve

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)