Name: Kopustu Sriuba Su Kiauliena Ir Graybais
Ingredients: 1 lb pork steak; 2 qts water; 1 medium head cabbage, shredded; 1 large onion, sliced or chopped; 1 clove garlic, minced; 1 tsp pepper; 1 can sauerkraut, drained; 1 cup sliced mushrooms (fresh or canned); salt to taste

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 ↓

Kopustu Sriuba Su Kiauliena Ir Graybais

Timeseveral hours

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare the pork

Cut pork into 4 pieces and place it in a large soup kettle.
Cover with at least 2 quarts of water.
Heat to a boil, then reduce to a simmer for several hours until the meat is tender.
Remove scum.

Make the soup

Drain sauerkraut, reserving the juice.
Add cabbage, sauerkraut, onion, and garlic.
Season to taste.
Cover and bring to a boil again, then reduce to a simmer for 1 hour.
Add mushrooms and cook until tender; remove the meat.
Stir in more sauerkraut juice if needed to make the soup more sour.
If juice was added, continue cooking for an additional 30 minutes.

Serve

Cut the meat into slices and serve with the soup.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

616Calories

61 gProtein

30 gFat

26 gCarbs

Counts 8 of 10 ingredients. The other 2 aren't in our nutrition table and add nothing above, so the real totals are higher.

What these numbers assume: 8 portions

Ingredient	Portion assumed	kcal
Beef	100g cooked	250
Pork	100g cooked	242
Broccoli	1 cup chopped (156g)	55
Onion	1 medium (110g)	44
Mushrooms	1/2 cup sliced (35g)	15
Black Pepper	1 tsp ground (2.3g)	6
Garlic	1 clove (3g)	4
Salt	1 tsp (6g)	0
Water	not in our table	0
Sauerkraut	not in our table	0

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.

Onion + garlictop 1% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together29,058 recipes

Shared aroma: furaneol (caramel, strawberry).
Clove + peppertop 5% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together17,451 recipes

Shared aroma: ethyl octanoate (fruity, wine).
Cabbage + peppertop 5% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together4,081 recipes

Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
Garlic + mushroomtop 6% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together4,700 recipes

Shared aroma: linalool (floral, citrus).
Cabbage + oniontop 7% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together3,001 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 meaty flavor and rich body to the broth as it simmers.
Cabbage: Adds bulk, mild sweetness and tender texture after long simmering.
Sauerkraut: Supplies the sour, tangy flavor that defines the soup.
Mushrooms: Add earthy flavor and a soft, meaty texture to the soup.
Onion: Contributes savory sweetness and aroma as it cooks down.

The step that matters

Simmering the pork until tender. Gentle simmering over several hours breaks down connective tissue in the pork. Boiling hard can toughen the meat and cloud the broth, so keep it at a steady simmer.

Swap the clove

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (pork, cabbage, onion, garlic, pepper, mushroom):

Thymefits better
Marjoramfits better
Parsleyfits better
Clovethe original

Fit is the average pairing score against pork, cabbage, onion, garlic, pepper, mushroom. 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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Kopustu Sriuba Su Kiauliena Ir Graybais