Name: Hungarian Goulash
Ingredients: 1 lb round steak, cut into 1-inch squares; 1 lb veal steak, cut into 1-inch squares; 1 lb pork steak, cut into 1-inch squares; 1 green pepper, chopped; 2 medium-sized onions; 3 tablespoons hot butter; 1 quart boiling water; 3 tablespoons stewed tomato; Salt to taste; Paprika to taste

Why it works: Pepper and tomato are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 7% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 17,923 recipes. Both carry 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine, which smells earthy, pea. 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.

Pepper + tomatotop 7% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together17,923 recipes

Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
Onion + tomatotop 8% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together20,633 recipes

Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
Pork + oniontop 10% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together18,214 recipes

Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
Pork + tomatotop 10% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together4,843 recipes

Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
Veal + porktop 11% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together4,930 recipes

Shared aroma: 4-heptenal (creamy, biscuit).

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

What each ingredient does

Round steak: Becomes tender during the long slow cook, giving the stew its main body and chew.
Veal steak: Adds tender meat that breaks down into the sauce during the slow simmer.
Pork steak: Contributes fat and flavor that enrich the braising liquid as it cooks.
Onions: Soften and sweeten as they brown in butter, building the flavor base of the sauce.
Stewed tomato: Adds acidity and body to the braising liquid, rounding out the sauce.

The step that matters

Sear the meats until all sides are browned. Browning creates deep savory flavors through the Maillard reaction. Meat that is only grey and steamed in the pot will taste flat once the long simmer is done.

Swap the tomato

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (veal, pork, pepper, onion, butter):

Potatofits better
Capsicumfits better
Carrotfits about as well
Tomatothe original

Fit is the average pairing score against veal, pork, pepper, onion, butter. 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.

Hungarian Goulash