Why it works: Celery and pepper match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 5% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 16,012 recipes. Both carry 4'-methylacetophenone, which smells bitter almond. The science ↓
German Chop Suey
Ingredients
Directions
Cook the base
Fry the hamburger until browned.
Add the onions, celery, tomatoes, salt, and pepper.
Boil the mixture for one hour.
Finish
Add noodles about fifteen minutes before serving.
Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)
What these numbers assume: 5 portions
| Ingredient | Portion assumed | kcal |
|---|---|---|
| Beef | 100g cooked | 250 |
| Onion | 1 medium (110g) | 44 |
| Celery | 1 stalk (40g) | 6 |
| Black Pepper | 1 tsp ground (2.3g) | 6 |
| Salt | 1 tsp (6g) | 0 |
One typical portion per ingredient; the recipe's quantities are not counted. A rough guide only, not for medical or dietary planning.
Transcribed from a scanned cookbook and modernised for today's kitchens. Where the book gave no heat or time, or said "a moderate oven", the temperatures and times here may be modern equivalents rather than the book's own figures. See the original page.
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.
-
Celery + peppertop 5% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together16,012 recipes
Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).
-
Celery + oniontop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together18,518 recipes
Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).
-
Onion + peppertop 11% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together68,474 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
- Hamburger
- Provides the meat base, and browning it adds savoury flavour.
- Onions
- Soften and sweeten as they cook, adding aroma to the mixture.
- Celery
- Adds a mild, fresh aroma and some texture to the cooked mixture.
The step that matters
Add noodles about fifteen minutes before serving.. Noodles keep absorbing liquid and softening while they sit in the hot mixture. Adding them near the end keeps them tender rather than mushy.
Swap the onion
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (celery, pepper):
- Carrotfits better
- Capsicumfits better
- Mustardfits better
- Onionthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against celery, pepper. 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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