Name: Beef Bourguignon II
Ingredients: 1+1/2 kg meat, cubed; 1 tablespoon butter; 2 tablespoons oil; 4 tablespoons flour; 1+1/2 cups red wine; 1+1/2 cups beef bouillon, hot; salt, pepper; 2 tablespoons butter; 1 can mushrooms, rinsed well; 1 onion, chopped; 3 cloves garlic, minced and mashed; 1/2 teaspoon thyme; 1 tablespoon parsley; 2 or 3 bay leaves

Why it works: Beef and mushroom are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 4% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 3,232 recipes. Both carry 2,4-nonadienal, which smells fatty, green. 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.

Beef + mushroomtop 4% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together3,232 recipes

Shared aroma: 2,4-nonadienal (fatty, green).
Beef + oniontop 7% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together17,092 recipes

Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
Butter + mushroomtop 7% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together12,525 recipes

Shared aroma: trans-2-decenal (waxy, orange).
Red wine + mushroomtop 9% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together720 recipes

Shared aroma: 2-methoxy-4-methylphenol (smoky, clove).
Beef + peppertop 10% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together18,971 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

Meat: Provides the main protein that becomes tender during long, slow cooking.
Flour: Coats the seared meat and thickens the wine and bouillon into a sauce.
Red wine: Adds acidity and depth of flavour that balances the richness of the beef.
Mushrooms: Add earthy savoury flavour and moisture to the stew.
Onion: Adds sweetness and savoury base flavour as it softens in the butter.
Garlic: Contributes aroma and pungent savoury flavour that mellows during cooking.

The step that matters

Searing the meat. Browning the meat in hot fat creates Maillard flavour compounds that build the depth of the sauce. Crowding the pan or stopping early leaves the meat grey and steaming, and the stew tastes flat.

Swap the onion

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

Shallotfits better
Potatofits better
Tomatofits about as well
Onionthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against meat, butter, flour, red wine, beef, pepper, mushroom. 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
Olive Oil	1 tbsp (14g)	119
Butter	1 tbsp (14g)	102
Onion	1 medium (110g)	44
Wine	2 tbsp cooking wine (30ml)	25
Mushroom	1/2 cup sliced (35g)	15
Black Pepper	1 tsp ground (2.3g)	6
Garlic	1 clove (3g)	4
Thyme	1 tsp dried (1.4g)	4
Bay Leaf	1 leaf (0.6g)	2
Parsley	1 tbsp chopped fresh (3.8g)	1
Salt	1 tsp (6g)	0
Meat	not in our table	0

Beef Bourguignon II