Sauerkraut with Mushrooms

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. Beef + mushroomtop 4% of all pairs
   Smell alikemoderate
   Cooked together3,232 recipes

   Shared aroma: 2,4-nonadienal (fatty, green).

2. Carrot + peppertop 6% of all pairs
   Smell alikestrong
   Cooked together14,555 recipes

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

3. Carrot + tomatotop 6% of all pairs
   Smell alikestrong
   Cooked together3,606 recipes

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

4. Carrot + oniontop 6% of all pairs
   Smell alikemoderate
   Cooked together21,601 recipes

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

5. Beef + oniontop 7% of all pairs
   Smell alikemoderate
   Cooked together17,092 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

Sauerkraut

Provides the main sour flavour and the shredded texture of the dish.

Beef bones

Make the stock, adding body and savoury depth to the sauce.

Dried mushrooms

Add earthy, concentrated aroma and savoury flavour to the stock and sauce.

Tomato paste

Adds acidity, colour and concentrated savoury sweetness during stewing.

Flour

Browned and mixed with stock, it thickens the sauce and gives it a toasted note.

Sour cream

Adds richness and a mild tang when stirred in at the end.

The step that matters

Swap the tomato

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (beef, mushroom, carrot, onion, flour, cream, pepper):

1. Potatofits better
2. Spinachfits better
3. Leekfits better
4. Tomatothe original

Fit is the average pairing score against beef, mushroom, carrot, onion, flour, cream, pepper. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.