Why it works: Beef and onion are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 7% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 17,092 recipes. Both carry 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine, which smells earthy, pea. The science ↓
Heart Gulash
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare and brown
Wash and cube the heart.
Fry the cubed heart slightly in a pan with shortening and finely chopped onion.
Simmer the goulash
Add flour, mix well, and cover with warm water.
Cover and simmer for 1/2 hour.
Add tomato paste, salt, pepper and let simmer until the sauce thickens.
Serve
Serve with hot mashed or boiled potatoes.
Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)
What these numbers assume: 9 portions
| Ingredient | Portion assumed | kcal |
|---|---|---|
| Flour | 1 cup (125g) all-purpose | 455 |
| Beef | 100g cooked | 250 |
| Olive Oil | 1 tbsp (14g) | 119 |
| Lard | 1 tbsp (12.8g) | 115 |
| Butter | 1 tbsp (14g) | 102 |
| Onion | 1 medium (110g) | 44 |
| Tomato | 1 medium (123g) | 22 |
| Black Pepper | 1 tsp ground (2.3g) | 6 |
| Salt | 1 tsp (6g) | 0 |
One typical portion per ingredient; the recipe's quantities are not counted. A rough guide only, not for medical or dietary planning.
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.
-
Beef + oniontop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together17,092 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
-
Tomato + peppertop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together17,923 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
-
Beef + tomatotop 8% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together5,448 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
-
Onion + tomatotop 8% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together20,633 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
-
Beef + peppertop 10% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked 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
- Beef heart
- Provides the main meat, which becomes tender with long, gentle simmering.
- Flour
- Thickens the cooking liquid into a sauce as it simmers.
- Onion
- Adds savory sweetness and aroma as it softens in the fat.
- Lard
- Fat for frying that carries flavor and helps the meat brown lightly.
- Tomato paste
- Adds concentrated acidity, color and savory depth to the sauce.
The step that matters
Simmering the heart until tender. Heart is dense, lean muscle that toughens if cooked hard or briefly. Keeping the liquid at a gentle simmer lets the connective tissue soften slowly, while flour in the sauce needs steady heat to thicken fully without scorching.
Swap the tomato
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (beef, flour, onion, butter, pepper):
- Potatofits better
- Chivefits better
- Leekfits better
- Tomatothe original
Fit is the average pairing score against beef, flour, onion, butter, pepper. 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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