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Beef and Potato Stew

A hearty stew of beef, potatoes, onions, and spices simmered with soy sauce, Worcestershire sauce, and sugar.

From the Recipes Wiki (Fandom) · 11 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 ↓

Beef and Potato Stew

Time20-30 minutes

Ingredients

Directions

Marinate

  1. Season meat with soy sauce, Worcestershire sauce, and black pepper.

  2. Marinate for 3 hours or overnight in a mixing bowl.

Cook the stew

  1. Heat oil and add sugar in a large pot.

  2. Allow to burn until dark brown and looks like a caramel coating.

  3. Add remaining ingredients except potatoes and cook for 20-30 minutes.

  4. Add potatoes and cook until tender.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

649Calories
33 gProtein
29 gFat
65 gCarbs
What these numbers assume: 11 portions
IngredientPortion assumedkcal
Beef100g cooked250
Potato1 medium (173g) baked161
Olive Oil1 tbsp (14g)119
Sugar1 tbsp (12.5g) granulated49
Onion1 medium (110g)44
Soy Sauce1 tbsp (15ml)9
Black Pepper1 tsp ground (2.3g)6
Garlic1 clove (3g)4
Thyme1 tsp dried (1.4g)4
Bay Leaf1 leaf (0.6g)2
Basil5 leaves fresh (2.5g)1

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. Potato + oniontop 3% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together9,023 recipes

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

  3. Garlic + basiltop 4% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together4,805 recipes

    Shared aroma: linalool (floral, citrus).

  4. Potato + garlictop 4% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together4,517 recipes

    Shared aroma: furaneol (caramel, strawberry).

  5. Clove + basiltop 4% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together1,437 recipes

    Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).

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; marinating with soy and Worcestershire sauce seasons it through.
Sugar
Burns to a dark caramel that colors and sweetens the pot and the stew.
Potatoes
Soften in the simmering liquid and thicken the stew as they break down.
Onions
Soften and sweeten as they cook, adding body to the stew.

The step that matters

Burning the sugar. Sugar goes from amber to bitter within moments once it passes dark brown. Pull back at the first deep brown colour, because scorched sugar will taint the whole pot.

Swap the clove

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (beef, potato, sugar, onion, sauce, garlic, basil):

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

Fit is the average pairing score against beef, potato, sugar, onion, sauce, garlic, basil. 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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