Name: Poetical Recipe for Beef Stew
Ingredients: 1 pound beef, cut into 2-inch squares; 1 tablespoon fresh parsley, chopped; 1 carrot, chopped; 1 onion, chopped; ½ cup beans (optional); 1 fresh tomato, peeled and sliced; 1 stalk celery, chopped; 1 pint cold water; 2 tablespoons flour; Salt, to taste; Pepper, to taste; Mushroom ketchup, to taste; Buttered toast, for serving (optional)

Why it works: Parsley and carrot match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 8,053 recipes. Both carry 2,4-decadienal, which smells seaweed. The science ↓

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.

Parsley + carrottop 1% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together8,053 recipes

Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).
Carrot + celerytop 1% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together10,173 recipes

Shared aroma: myristicin (spice, warm).
Beans + tomatotop 1% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together2,713 recipes

Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
Parsley + celerytop 1% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together6,810 recipes

Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).
Tomato + celerytop 4% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together3,377 recipes

Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

Beef: Provides the main protein, which becomes tender during long, slow simmering.
Flour: Thickens the cooking liquid into a smooth, body-rich stew.
Tomato: Adds acidity and savory depth to the broth.
Onion: Adds aromatic sweetness and savory flavor as it softens in the stew.
Carrot: Adds natural sweetness and body to the stew.

The step that matters

Stirring the flour paste into the stew. Flour added directly to hot liquid clumps; mixing it with a little cold water first makes a smooth paste that disperses evenly and thickens the stew without lumps.

Swap the beans

The recipe marks beans as optional. How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (beef, parsley, carrot, onion, tomato, celery, flour):

Chickpeafits about as well
Beansthe original
Lentilsfits about as well
Black-eyed peafits less well

Fit is the average pairing score against beef, parsley, carrot, onion, tomato, celery, flour. 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.

Poetical Recipe for Beef Stew