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Virginia Brunswick Stew

A stew of chicken, bacon, corn, beans, tomatoes, potatoes, and bread simmered in water.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
By Vehling, Joseph Dommers, 1879-1950. fmo · From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 9 ingredients
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Why it works: Beans and tomato match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 2,713 recipes. Both carry 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine, which smells earthy, pea. The science ↓

Virginia Brunswick Stew

Ingredients

Directions

Make the stew base

  1. Add three gallons of water, two cut-up chickens, and one pound of finely cut fat bacon to the pot.

  2. Cook until the chicken is sufficiently cooked for the meat to leave the bones.

  3. Remove the chickens and separate the meat from the bones.

  4. Return the meat to the water.

Add the vegetables

  1. Add half a gallon of boiled and mashed Irish potatoes.

  2. Add one and a half pints of green corn cut off.

  3. Add one pint of green butter beans.

  4. Add one quart of skinned tomatoes.

  5. Add a good sized loaf of light bread.

  6. Season with black pepper, red pepper, salt, and butter.

  7. Do not add the bread until the stew is nearly done.

Finish the stew

  1. When the stew begins to thicken, stir constantly until it is done.

  2. If the stew becomes too thick, add more water.

  3. Make the stew so that no one can detect any of the ingredients.

  4. Squirrels can be used as a substitute for chickens.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

576Calories
43 gProtein
20 gFat
60 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
IngredientPortion assumedkcal
Chicken100g cooked165
Potato1 medium (173g) baked161
Butter1 tbsp (14g)102
Corn1/2 cup kernels (82g)77
Bacon1 slice cooked (8g)43
Tomato1 medium (123g)22
Black Pepper1 tsp ground (2.3g)6
Salt1 tsp (6g)0
Waternot in our table0
Beannot in our table0

One typical portion per ingredient; the recipe's quantities are not counted. A rough guide only, not for medical or dietary planning.

By Vehling, Joseph Dommers, 1879-1950. fmo. Recipe from a historical cookbook (Internet Archive).

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.

  1. Beans + tomatotop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together2,713 recipes

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

  2. Corn + beanstop 3% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together1,211 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2,3-pentanedione (butter, sweet).

  3. Corn + potatotop 5% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together938 recipes

    Shared aroma: (e)-2-octenal (fatty, green).

  4. Beans + potatotop 5% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together655 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-isobutyl-3-methoxypyrazine (green bell pepper, earthy).

  5. Tomato + potatotop 5% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together2,798 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

Chickens
Provide the meat and rich flavour of the stew base when cooked in the water.
Fat bacon
Adds fat and smoky, savoury flavour to the broth.
Irish potatoes
Break down when mashed, adding body and thickening the stew.
Light bread (in the method)
Soaks up liquid and thickens the stew as it cooks.
Green corn
Adds sweetness and tender texture to the stew.
Tomatoes
Add acidity and a fresh, tangy flavour to the broth.

The step that matters

Adding the bread. Bread added too early dissolves into the liquid and can make the stew pasty or overly thick. Adding it near the end lets it thicken gently while keeping some texture.

“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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