Name: Virginia Game Broth
Ingredients: 2 squirrels or 2 wild rabbits, jointed; 2 cups Lima beans; 6 potatoes, parboiled and sliced; 7 ears of green corn, shaved from the cob; 6 tablespoons butter, rolled in flour; 1 quart tomatoes, peeled and chopped; ½ pound fat salt pork, chopped; ½ teaspoon paprika or cayenne; 1 teaspoon black pepper; Salt to taste; 1 large onion, minced; 2 teaspoons white sugar; 4 quarts boiling water

Why it works: Lima beans and corn work together. They rank in the top 3% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 222 recipes. Both carry 2,3-pentanedione, which smells butter, sweet. 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.

Lima beans + corntop 3% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together222 recipes

Shared aroma: 2,3-pentanedione (butter, sweet).
Potato + corntop 5% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together938 recipes

Shared aroma: (e)-2-octenal (fatty, green).
Potato + tomatotop 5% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together2,798 recipes

Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
Potato + porktop 5% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together2,668 recipes

Shared aroma: sotolon (curry, maple).
Corn + tomatotop 6% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together2,099 recipes

Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).

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

What each ingredient does

Squirrels or wild rabbits: Provide the meat that gives the broth its main body and savory flavor.
Lima beans: Add starch that thickens the broth and gives it a creamy, tender texture.
Potatoes: Break down slightly during stewing, adding starch that thickens the broth.
Green corn: Adds sweetness and body to the broth as it cooks.
Butter rolled in flour: Thickens the broth at the end, adding richness and a smooth texture.
Tomatoes: Add acidity and brightness that balance the rich meat and pork.

The step that matters

Stir in the floured butter and cook 10 more minutes. Flour clumps if added to liquid without being fully blended with the butter, and it needs a few minutes of simmering to cook out its raw taste and reach full thickness.

Swap the lima beans

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (rabbit, potato, corn, butter, flour, tomato, pork):

Beansfits better
Peanutfits better
Almondfits better
Lima beansthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against rabbit, potato, corn, butter, flour, tomato, pork. 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.

Virginia Game Broth