Name: Haitian Spicy Beef Stew
Ingredients: 1 lb. beef; 1 clove garlic; 1/4 lb. bacon or ham; chilies, hot pepper, or Tabasco; 2 sweet potatoes; 1 yam; 1 potato per person; 4 tomatoes (or 1 Tbs. tomato paste per serving); 1/2 lb. beans or chick peas (soaked in advance); 1 onion; pepper; bouquet garni (spices)

Why it works: Beef and tomato match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 3% of all ingredient pairs, and 5,445 recipes mention both. Both carry 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine, which smells earthy, pea. The science ↓

Explore the science

The flavor team

The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much aroma chemistry they share, and how many recipes mention both.

Beef + tomatotop 3% of all pairs

Aroma overlapstrong

Mentioned together5,445 recipes

Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
Sweet potato + yamtop 1% of all pairs

Aroma overlapstrong

Mentioned together99 recipes

Shared aroma: coumarin (sweet, hay).
Garlic + tomatotop 2% of all pairs

Aroma overlapmoderate

Mentioned together14,075 recipes

Shared aroma: furaneol (caramel, strawberry).
Potato + tomatotop 3% of all pairs

Aroma overlapstrong

Mentioned together2,797 recipes

Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
Garlic + potatotop 3% of all pairs

Aroma overlapstrong

Mentioned together4,512 recipes

Shared aroma: furaneol (caramel, strawberry).

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

What each ingredient does

Beef: Provides the main protein and rich savory flavor as it simmers into the stew.
Beans or chick peas: Add body and substance, becoming tender and thickening the stew as they cook.
Sweet potatoes: Break down slightly during simmering, adding natural sweetness and thickening the broth.
Tomatoes: Add acidity and moisture, building a brighter, more rounded base for the stew.
Bacon or ham: Adds smoky, salty fat that flavors the broth throughout the long simmer.

Flavor stand-ins for the yam

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (beef, garlic, ham, pepper, sweet potato, potato, tomato):

Capsicumbetter flavor fit
Onionbetter flavor fit
Carrotbetter flavor fit
Yamthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against beef, garlic, ham, pepper, sweet potato, potato, tomato. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes. This compares flavor only: it does not check the job the ingredient does in the dish (bulk, moisture, acidity, structure).

“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.