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Soup

Kharcho

Kharcho is a Georgian beef soup made with brisket, onions, garlic, tomatoes, rice, plums, and herbs.

From the Recipes Wiki (Fandom) · 10 ingredients
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Why it works: Tomato and coriander are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 3,967 recipes. Both carry trans-2-decenal, which smells waxy, orange. The science ↓

Kharcho

Time2 hours

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare the broth

  1. Wash and cut the brisket into 3 or 4 pieces per plate.

  2. Cover the meat with cold water, bring to a boil, and skim off impurities.

  3. Simmer the meat for 2 hours.

Build the soup

  1. Add finely sliced onion, crushed garlic, rice, and plums.

  2. Add salt and pepper to taste.

  3. Simmer for 25 minutes.

  4. Saute tomatoes or tomato puree in butter or drippings.

  5. Add the sautéed tomatoes or tomato puree to the kharcho.

  6. Cook for another 5 to 10 minutes.

Serve

  1. Serve sprinkled with chopped coriander, parsley, or dill.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

426Calories
8 gProtein
13 gFat
72 gCarbs

Counts 11 of 13 ingredients. The other 2 aren't in our nutrition table and add nothing above, so the real totals are higher.

What these numbers assume: 11 portions
IngredientPortion assumedkcal
Rice1 cup cooked (158g) white206
Butter1 tbsp (14g)102
Onion1 medium (110g)44
Plum1 medium (66g)30
Tomato1 medium (123g)22
Clove1 tsp ground (2g)7
Black Pepper1 tsp ground (2.3g)6
Garlic1 clove (3g)4
Dill5 sprigs fresh (1g) / 1 tsp dried4
Parsley1 tbsp chopped fresh (3.8g)1
Salt1 tsp (6g)0
Drippingnot in our table0
Coriandernot 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. Tomato + coriandertop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together3,967 recipes

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

  2. Clove + peppertop 5% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together17,451 recipes

    Shared aroma: ethyl octanoate (fruity, wine).

  3. Pepper + coriandertop 6% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together5,949 recipes

    Shared aroma: myristicin (spice, warm).

  4. Tomato + plumtop 6% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together1,480 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).

  5. Tomato + ricetop 6% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together3,065 recipes

    Shared aroma: trans-2-nonenal (cardboard, fatty).

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

What each ingredient does

Brisket
Provides rich meat flavour and gelatine that gives the broth body as it simmers.
Onions
Soften and sweeten as they cook, adding savoury depth to the broth.
Garlic
Adds pungent aroma that mellows and becomes sweeter during simmering.
Tomato puree or tomatoes
Adds acidity and colour, and a deeper savoury note when sautéed in fat first.
Rice
Absorbs liquid and thickens the soup slightly as it cooks.
Tart plums
Add sharp acidity that balances the richness of the meat broth.

The step that matters

Skimming after the boil. Impurities that rise as the meat first heats form grey foam that can make the broth cloudy and bitter. Removing them early keeps the broth clear and clean-tasting.

Swap the onion

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (clove, tomato, rice, plum, pepper, butter, coriander):

  1. Capsicumfits better
  2. Carrotfits better
  3. Cucumberfits better
  4. Onionthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against clove, tomato, rice, plum, pepper, butter, coriander. 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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