Name: Beef, Stewed, and Celery Sauce
Ingredients: 3 heads of celery, cut into 2-inch pieces; 2 onions, chopped; 1 pint of good gravy; 2 pounds of cold boiled or roast beef, cut into thick pieces; Potatoes, for frying

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 ↓

Beef, Stewed, and Celery Sauce

Ingredients

3 heads of celery, cut into 2-inch pieces
2 onions, chopped
1 pint of good gravy
2 pounds of cold boiled or roast beef, cut into thick pieces
Potatoes, for frying

Directions

Simmer the celery and onions in the gravy until tender.
Add the beef and stew gently for 10 to 12 minutes.
Serve with potatoes that are sliced and fried until crisp.

Recipe from a historical cookbook (Internet Archive).

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.

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 pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together9,023 recipes

Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
Celery + potatotop 7% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together2,047 recipes

Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).
Onion + beeftop 7% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together17,092 recipes

Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
Celery + oniontop 7% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together18,518 recipes

Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).
Beef + potatotop 8% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together2,052 recipes

Shared aroma: sotolon (curry, maple).

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

What each ingredient does

Celery: Softens into the gravy and gives the sauce its body and vegetable flavour.
Onions: Break down while simmering to add sweetness and depth to the sauce.
Gravy: Forms the liquid base that the vegetables and beef cook in.
Beef: Provides the main protein; gentle stewing keeps the cooked pieces tender.
Potatoes: Fried until crisp to add contrast in texture alongside the stew.