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Modified Chili Con Carne

A hearty stew of beans, ground beef, tomatoes, and spices simmered together.

From the Recipes Wiki (Fandom) · 16 ingredients
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Why it works: Onion and garlic match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 29,058 recipes. Both carry furaneol, which smells caramel, strawberry. The science ↓

Modified Chili Con Carne

Time1 ½ hours

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare the beans

  1. Place beans and 3 cups water in a saucepan.

  2. Bring to a boil and cook for 2 minutes. Do not drain.

  3. Set aside for 1 hour.

  4. Return beans to heat, adding water to cover if necessary. Simmer for one hour or until beans are tender.

  5. Drain and set aside.

Make the chili

  1. Heat the oil in a large, deep skillet or Dutch oven.

  2. Add onion and green pepper. Cook until onion is transparent.

  3. Add meat and brown. Pour off all fat.

  4. Add beans and remaining ingredients. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer 1 ½ hours, stirring occasionally.

  5. Remove bay leaf before serving.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

631Calories
38 gProtein
31 gFat
51 gCarbs

Counts 14 of 15 ingredients. The other 1 aren't in our nutrition table and add nothing above, so the real totals are higher.

What these numbers assume: 14 portions
IngredientPortion assumedkcal
Beef100g cooked250
Pinto Bean1/2 cup (86g) canned122
Olive Oil1 tbsp (14g)119
Onion1 medium (110g)44
Bell Pepper1 medium (119g)31
Tomato1 medium (123g)22
Chili1 tsp (2.7g)8
Cumin1 tsp ground (2.1g)8
Clove1 tsp ground (2g)7
Black Pepper1 tsp ground (2.3g)6
Oregano1 tsp dried (1.8g)5
Garlic1 clove (3g)4
Vinegar1 tbsp (15ml) distilled3
Bay Leaf1 leaf (0.6g)2
Waternot in our table0

One typical portion per ingredient; the recipe's quantities are not counted. A rough guide only, not for medical or dietary planning.

Recipe from the Recipes Wiki (Fandom).

Steps grouped into stages for easier reading; the method is the source's own.

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.

  1. Onion + garlictop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together29,058 recipes

    Shared aroma: furaneol (caramel, strawberry).

  2. Beans + tomatotop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together2,713 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).

  3. Tomato + garlictop 3% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together14,076 recipes

    Shared aroma: furaneol (caramel, strawberry).

  4. Pepper + clovetop 5% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together17,451 recipes

    Shared aroma: ethyl octanoate (fruity, wine).

  5. Beans + garlictop 6% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together2,935 recipes

    Shared aroma: linalool (floral, citrus).

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

What each ingredient does

Pinto beans
Provide the main body and starch of the chili, softening as they simmer.
Lean ground beef
Supplies savory meaty flavor and texture, browning well in the hot skillet.
Onion
Softens and turns sweet as it cooks, building the base flavor of the chili.
Tomato paste
Adds concentrated tomato flavor, color and body to the simmering sauce.
Chili powder
Contributes the characteristic chili flavor and warmth to the sauce.
Garlic clove
Adds pungent aroma that mellows and deepens during simmering.

The step that matters

Browning the meat. Searing the ground beef in a hot pan until browned builds deep roasted flavor through the Maillard reaction. Crowding the pan or stopping early leaves it grey and steamed, with a flatter taste.

Swap the clove

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (beans, onion, pepper, beef, tomato, vinegar, garlic):

  1. Cuminfits better
  2. Oreganofits better
  3. Thymefits better
  4. Clovethe original

Fit is the average pairing score against beans, onion, pepper, beef, tomato, vinegar, garlic. 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.

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