Frizzled Beef and Egos

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.

1. Milk + buttertop 7% of all pairs
   Smell alikemoderate
   Cooked together81,283 recipes

   Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).

2. Beef + peppertop 10% of all pairs
   Smell alikemoderate
   Cooked together18,971 recipes

   Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).

3. Butter + flourtop 12% of all pairs
   Smell alikelow
   Cooked together124,287 recipes

   Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).

4. Beef + milktop 12% of all pairs
   Smell alikemoderate
   Cooked together3,759 recipes

   Shared aroma: 1-hexanal (fruit).

5. Milk + flourtop 14% of all pairs
   Smell alikelow
   Cooked together78,219 recipes

   Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).

Butter and flour barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 124,287 recipes: they work on texture and structure more than aroma.

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

What each ingredient does

Eggs

Set and thicken the sauce, binding it into a creamy texture when whipped in at the end.

Flour

Thickens the milk and butter mixture into a smooth sauce.

Chipped beef

Provides the savory meat base, browned lightly in the hot butter.

Milk

Forms the liquid base of the sauce, carrying the flour and adding creaminess.

The step that matters