Name: Beef or Turkey Stew
Ingredients: 225px|right; 1 pound lean beef or turkey breast cut into cubes; Whole wheat flour; 1/4 teaspoon salt (optional); 1/4 teaspoon pepper; 1/4 teaspoon cumin; 1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil; 2 cloves of garlic, minced; 2 medium onions, sliced; 2 stalks celery, sliced; 1 medium red/green bell pepper, sliced; 1 medium tomato, finely minced; 5 cups of beef or turkey broth, fat removed; 5 small potatoes, peeled and cubed; 12 small carrots; 1 1/4 cups green peas

Why it works: Cumin and garlic match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 5,082 recipes. Both carry beta-phellandrene, which smells minty, terpene. 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.

Cumin + garlictop 1% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together5,082 recipes

Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).
Olive + garlictop 2% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together25,665 recipes

Shared aroma: linalool (floral, citrus).
Cumin + clovetop 4% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together1,306 recipes

Shared aroma: cuminaldehyde (Spicy, cumin).
Pepper + clovetop 5% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together17,451 recipes

Shared aroma: ethyl octanoate (fruity, wine).
Wheat + olivetop 6% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together1,100 recipes

Shared aroma: 2-undecenal (sweet).

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

What each ingredient does

Lean beef or turkey breast: Provides the main protein, which browns and becomes tender during slow baking.
Whole wheat flour: Coats the meat, helping it brown and thickening the cooking liquid slightly.
Olive oil: Conducts heat for searing the coated meat and carries flavor through the skillet.
Beef or turkey broth: Provides the cooking liquid that gently braises the meat and vegetables.
Potatoes: Add starch that softens during baking and thickens the stew body.
Onions: Add sweetness and aroma as they soften in the skillet.

The step that matters

Browning the coated meat. Searing floured cubes in hot oil until browned builds deep, savory flavor through the Maillard reaction. Crowding the pan or stopping early leaves the meat pale and bland.

Swap the clove

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (beef, wheat, flour, pepper, cumin, olive, garlic):

Turmericfits better
Oreganofits better
Corianderfits better
Clovethe original

Fit is the average pairing score against beef, wheat, flour, pepper, cumin, olive, garlic. 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
Flour	1 cup (125g) all-purpose	455
Beef	100g cooked	250
Chicken	100g cooked	165
Potato	1 medium (173g) baked	161
Olive Oil	1 tbsp (14g)	119
Pea	1/2 cup (72g)	62
Onion	1 medium (110g)	44
Bell Pepper	1 medium (119g)	31
Carrot	1 medium (61g)	25
Tomato	1 medium (123g)	22
Cumin	1 tsp ground (2.1g)	8
Clove	1 tsp ground (2g)	7
Black Pepper	1 tsp ground (2.3g)	6
Celery	1 stalk (40g)	6
Garlic	1 clove (3g)	4
Salt	1 tsp (6g)	0

Beef or Turkey Stew