20-Minute Beef Stroganoff

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. Mushroom + beeftop 4% of all pairs
   Smell alikemoderate
   Cooked together3,232 recipes

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

2. Olive + mushroomtop 7% of all pairs
   Smell alikemoderate
   Cooked together4,571 recipes

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

3. Onion + beeftop 7% of all pairs
   Smell alikemoderate
   Cooked together17,092 recipes

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

4. Olive + oniontop 8% of all pairs
   Smell alikemoderate
   Cooked together29,779 recipes

   Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).

5. Beef + peppertop 10% of all pairs
   Smell alikemoderate
   Cooked together18,971 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

Egg noodles

Provide a starchy base that soaks up the sauce and gives the dish its body.

Mushrooms

Add earthy flavor and moisture that blends into the sauce as they cook.

Beef tips with gravy

Supply the meat and a savory gravy that forms the bulk of the sauce.

Cream of mushroom soup

Thickens the sauce and adds concentrated mushroom flavor and creaminess.

Sour cream

Adds tangy richness and creaminess to the finished sauce.

The step that matters

Swap the onion

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (egg, olive, mushroom, beef, milk, cream, pepper):

1. Capsicumfits better
2. Potatofits better
3. Tomatofits better
4. Onionthe original

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