Name: Crockpot Pork Steak Mushroom Delight
Ingredients: 2 pounds pork steak, cut into strips; 2 tablespoons vegetable oil; 1 large white onion, sliced; 1 green bell pepper, cut into strips; 8-10 fresh mushrooms, chopped; 8 ounce can tomato sauce; 3 tablespoons light brown sugar; 1-1/2 teaspoons red wine vinegar; 1-1/2 teaspoons salt; 3 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce

Why it works: Mushroom and tomato are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 7% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 2,719 recipes. Both carry 1-octen-3-one, which smells mushroom, metallic. 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.

Mushroom + tomatotop 7% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together2,719 recipes

Shared aroma: 1-octen-3-one (mushroom, metallic).
Pepper + tomatotop 7% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together17,923 recipes

Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
Pork + mushroomtop 8% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together3,875 recipes

Shared aroma: 2-methoxy-4-propylphenol (allspice, anise).
Tomato + red winetop 8% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together806 recipes

Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).
Onion + tomatotop 8% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together20,633 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

Pork steak: Provides the meat that becomes tender during long, slow cooking.
Mushrooms: Add savory, earthy flavor and moisture to the stew as they release liquid.
Tomato sauce: Supplies acidity and liquid that form the base of the stew sauce.
Light brown sugar: Adds sweetness that balances the acidity of the tomato sauce and vinegar.
Red wine vinegar: Adds acidity that brightens the sauce and balances the sweetness.

The step that matters

Browning the pork in oil. Searing the pork creates browned, savory flavors through the Maillard reaction. Draining it on paper towels removes excess fat and surface moisture, so the pork browns rather than steams before it goes into the slow cooker.

Swap the onion

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (pork, pepper, mushroom, tomato, sauce, sugar, red wine):

Capsicumfits better
Potatofits better
Shallotfits better
Onionthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against pork, pepper, mushroom, tomato, sauce, sugar, red wine. 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
Beef	100g cooked	250
Pork	100g cooked	242
Olive Oil	1 tbsp (14g)	119
Sugar	1 tbsp (12.5g) granulated	49
Onion	1 medium (110g)	44
Bell Pepper	1 medium (119g)	31
Tomato	1 medium (123g)	22
Mushrooms	1/2 cup sliced (35g)	15
Soy Sauce	1 tbsp (15ml)	9
Vinegar	1 tbsp (15ml) distilled	3
Salt	1 tsp (6g)	0

Crockpot Pork Steak Mushroom Delight