Ground Beef Stroganoff

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

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

3. Garlic + mushroomtop 6% of all pairs
   Smell alikemoderate
   Cooked together4,700 recipes

   Shared aroma: linalool (floral, citrus).

4. Onion + beeftop 7% of all pairs
   Smell alikemoderate
   Cooked together17,092 recipes

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

5. Butter + mushroomtop 7% of all pairs
   Smell alikemoderate
   Cooked together12,525 recipes

   Shared aroma: trans-2-decenal (waxy, orange).

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

What each ingredient does

Lean ground beef

Provides the main protein and savory meaty body of the sauce.

Flour

Thickens the broth and soup into a smooth, cohesive sauce.

Sour cream

Adds creamy richness and a mild tang to the finished sauce.

Condensed cream of mushroom soup

Adds body, creaminess and mushroom flavor to the sauce.

Beef broth

Supplies liquid that combines with the flour to form the sauce.

Dry sherry or dry white wine

Adds acidity and aromatic depth to balance the rich sauce.

The step that matters

Swap the garlic

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

1. Garlicthe original
2. Thymefits about as well
3. Parsleyfits less well
4. Celeryfits less well

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