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Pork, Sweet Potato & Pineapple Stew

A savory stew of pork, sweet potato, pineapple, tomatoes, and spices simmered together.

From the Recipes Wiki (Fandom) · 18 ingredients
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Why it works: Pork and pineapple match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 13% of all ingredient pairs, and 313 recipes mention both. Both carry methyl isobutyrate, which smells flower. The science ↓

The recipe

Time30 to 40 minutes

Ingredients

Directions

Cook the pork

  1. Combine pork, water, halved onion, whole garlic, peppercorns and 1/4 teaspoon salt in a large saucepan. Bring to a simmer; cook, partially covered, over low heat until the pork is no longer pink inside, 30 to 40 minutes.

  2. Meanwhile, heat oil in a Dutch oven over medium heat. Add sliced onion and cook, stirring frequently, until softened, 4 to 5 minutes.

Make the vegetable base

  1. Add remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt, minced garlic, tomatoes, sweet potato, raisins, sugar, adobo sauce (or chili-garlic paste), cinnamon, oregano and cloves.

  2. Bring to a simmer; cover and cook, stirring occasionally, until the sweet potato is just tender, about 15 minutes.

Finish the stew

  1. Transfer the pork to a cutting board and cut into 1/2-inch pieces.

  2. Strain the cooking liquid through a fine sieve, reserving 3/4 cup. (Refrigerate or freeze extra broth for another use.)

  3. Add the pork, 3/4 cup cooking liquid, pineapple and olives to the vegetable mixture.

  4. Cook, stirring occasionally, for 15 minutes.

  5. Stir in cilantro.

Recipe from the Recipes Wiki (Fandom).

This recipe comes from the Recipes Wiki on Fandom and is licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Our formatting and summaries are shared under the same licence.

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 aroma chemistry they share, and how many recipes mention both.

  1. Pork + pineappletop 13% of all pairs
    Aroma overlapstrong
    Mentioned together313 recipes

    Shared aroma: methyl isobutyrate (flower).

  2. Olive + tomatotop 1% of all pairs
    Aroma overlapstrong
    Mentioned together14,164 recipes

    Shared aroma: 3-hexenal (apple, fruity).

  3. Onion + garlictop 1% of all pairs
    Aroma overlapstrong
    Mentioned together29,030 recipes

    Shared aroma: furaneol (caramel, strawberry).

  4. Garlic + tomatotop 2% of all pairs
    Aroma overlapmoderate
    Mentioned together14,075 recipes

    Shared aroma: furaneol (caramel, strawberry).

  5. Garlic + olivetop 3% of all pairs
    Aroma overlapmoderate
    Mentioned together23,449 recipes

    Shared aroma: linalool (floral, citrus).

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

What each ingredient does

Pork tenderloin
Provides the main protein, which turns tender and juicy when cooked gently in liquid.
Sweet potato
Softens into the stew and adds body and natural sweetness.
Whole tomatoes
Provide acidity and liquid that build the body of the stew.
Raisins
Add concentrated sweetness and soft chewiness to the stew.
Pineapple
Adds bright, tangy sweetness that balances the savory and spiced notes.
Green olives
Contribute a briny, salty tang that cuts through the richness.

The step that matters

Cook the pork until no longer pink, then keep it tender. Pork tenderloin is lean and dries out if overcooked. Gentle simmering in partly covered liquid keeps it moist, and it is cooked through before it goes back into the stew.

Flavor stand-ins for the raisin

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (pork, onion, garlic, olive, tomato, sweet potato, sugar):

  1. Avocadobetter flavor fit
  2. Cherrybetter flavor fit
  3. Pumpkinbetter flavor fit
  4. Raisinthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against pork, onion, garlic, olive, tomato, sweet potato, sugar. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes. This compares flavor only: it does not check the job the ingredient does in the dish (bulk, moisture, acidity, structure).

“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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