Why it works: Lima beans and okra share more aroma than cooks usually use. They rank in the top 3% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 64 recipes. Both carry 2-isobutyl-3-methoxypyrazine, which smells green bell pepper, earthy. The science ↓
Virginia Gumbo
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare
Add soup bone.
Slice 3 onions.
Slice 6 potatoes.
Slice 3 pods okra.
Combine
Add 1 pint tomatoes and 4 or 5 slices of bacon.
Add 1 pint corn, 1 pint lima beans, salt, and pepper to taste.
Put soup bone in cold water to cook.
Cook
Mix vegetables with a cup of water; put bacon in skillet, and when hot add vegetables and fry until dry.
Add all to broth and boil until vegetables are thoroughly cooked.
Use chicken broth instead of other broth if desired.
Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)
What these numbers assume: 9 portions
| Ingredient | Portion assumed | kcal |
|---|---|---|
| Potato | 1 medium (173g) baked | 161 |
| Lima Bean | 1/2 cup (85g) cooked | 108 |
| Corn | 1/2 cup kernels (82g) | 77 |
| Onion | 1 medium (110g) | 44 |
| Bacon | 1 slice cooked (8g) | 43 |
| Okra | 1 cup (100g) | 33 |
| Tomato | 1 medium (123g) | 22 |
| 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.
-
Lima beans + okratop 3% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together64 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isobutyl-3-methoxypyrazine (green bell pepper, earthy).
-
Tomato + okratop 3% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together327 recipes
Shared aroma: damascenone (apple, rose).
-
Onion + potatotop 3% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together9,023 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
-
Corn + lima beanstop 3% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together222 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,3-pentanedione (butter, sweet).
-
Onion + okratop 4% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together715 recipes
Shared aroma: coumarin (sweet, hay).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Potatoes
- Starch that softens and thickens the broth as it cooks.
- Okra
- Releases mucilage that gives the gumbo body and a silky thickness.
- Bacon
- Renders fat for frying and adds smoky, savory flavor.
- Onions
- Sweetness and aroma that develop as they cook down.
- Lima beans
- Starchy body that adds texture and substance to the stew.
- Tomatoes
- Acidity and fruity flavor that brighten the broth.
The step that matters
Frying the vegetables until dry. Frying drives off surface water so the vegetables brown and develop flavor instead of steaming. Adding them to the broth afterward keeps the stew from tasting flat.
Swap the lima beans
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (tomato, corn, onion, potato, okra, pepper):
- Beansfits better
- Black-eyed peafits better
- Chickpeafits better
- Lima beansthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against tomato, corn, onion, potato, okra, 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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