Beef with Sour Cream

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. Garlic + oniontop 1% of all pairs
   Smell alikestrong
   Cooked together29,058 recipes

   Shared aroma: furaneol (caramel, strawberry).

2. Pepper + thymetop 4% of all pairs
   Smell alikemoderate
   Cooked together11,585 recipes

   Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).

3. Garlic + thymetop 4% of all pairs
   Smell alikestrong
   Cooked together5,608 recipes

   Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).

4. Beef + mushroomtop 4% of all pairs
   Smell alikemoderate
   Cooked together3,232 recipes

   Shared aroma: 2,4-nonadienal (fatty, green).

5. Thyme + mushroomtop 5% of all pairs
   Smell alikemoderate
   Cooked together2,557 recipes

   Shared aroma: 1-octen-3-one (mushroom, metallic).

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

What each ingredient does

Beef round steak

Lean meat that becomes tender and juicy during long, moist simmering.

Flour

Coats the meat to promote browning and thickens the cooking liquid into a sauce.

Beef broth

Provides the liquid for simmering and builds a savory beef flavor in the sauce.

Onion

Softens and sweetens as it cooks, adding aroma to the sauce.

Mushrooms

Add earthy flavor and moisture to the sauce.

Sour cream

Adds tang and creamy richness to the sauce.

The step that matters

Swap the peas

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (beef, flour, pepper, garlic, onion, thyme, mushroom):

1. Chickpeafits better
2. Lentilsfits better
3. Beansfits better
4. Peasthe original

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