Why it works: Onion and potato are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 3% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 9,023 recipes. Both carry 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine, which smells earthy, pea. The science ↓
Lamb Stew
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare the lamb
Cut up the lamb into small pieces (after removing all the fat) about two inches square.
Wash the lamb well and put it over the fire with just enough cold water to cover it, and let it heat gradually.
Let it stew gently until it is partly done.
Add vegetables and finish
Add a few thin slices of salt pork, one or two onions sliced up fine, some pepper and salt if needed, and two or three raw potatoes cut up into inch pieces.
Cover it closely and stew until the meat is tender.
Drop in a few made dumplings, made like short biscuit, cut out very small.
Cook fifteen minutes longer.
Thicken the gravy with a little flour moistened with milk.
Serve.
Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)
What these numbers assume: 4 portions
| Ingredient | Portion assumed | kcal |
|---|---|---|
| Potato | 1 medium (173g) baked | 161 |
| Onion | 1 medium (110g) | 44 |
| 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.
-
Onion + potatotop 3% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together9,023 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
-
Potato + peppertop 9% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together8,305 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
-
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
- Lamb (in the method)
- Provides the main protein, which becomes tender through slow, gentle stewing.
- Potatoes
- Absorb liquid and soften, adding body and starch to the stew.
- Onions
- Add sweetness and aroma as they soften into the stewing liquid.
- Flour (in the method)
- Thickens the gravy when moistened and cooked in the liquid.
The step that matters
Thicken the gravy with a little flour moistened with milk. Flour must be mixed smoothly with liquid before it goes in, otherwise it clumps. Starch thickens the gravy only when it is heated, so it needs a few minutes of simmering to reach full thickness.
Swap the onion
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (potato, pepper):
- Capsicumfits better
- Carrotfits better
- Spinachfits better
- Onionthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against potato, 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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