Why it works: Flour and onion are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 17% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 32,460 recipes. Both carry isobutyraldehyde, which smells malty, green. The science ↓
Irish Stew
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare
Cut the meat into small pieces.
Slice the potatoes and onions raw.
Mix the flour, pepper, and salt; dip each bit of meat into it.
Layer and stew
Put a layer of sliced potatoes at the bottom of the pan, then a layer of meat, then one of onion, and so on until the dish is full, covering with a layer of potatoes.
Pour the water over the whole, and stew for an hour and a half, slowly.
Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)
What these numbers assume: 2 portions
| Ingredient | Portion assumed | kcal |
|---|---|---|
| Flour | 1 cup (125g) all-purpose | 455 |
| Onion | 1 medium (110g) | 44 |
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.
Photo for illustrative purposes only · Contact us to use it
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.
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Flour + oniontop 17% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together32,460 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Flour
- Coats the meat so it browns and helps thicken the stew's cooking liquid.
- Potatoes (in the method)
- Form the base and top layers and soften into the stew, adding body.
- Onions
- Add sweetness and aroma as they soften during the slow stew.
The step that matters
Slow stewing of the layers. Stewing gently over long, low heat lets the meat become tender and the potatoes cook through without breaking apart. Boiling hard can toughen the meat and ruin the layers.
“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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