Why it works: Onion and pepper are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 11% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 68,474 recipes. Both carry 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine, which smells earthy, pea. The science ↓
Chili Con Carne
Ingredients
Directions
In a skillet, heat the lard over medium heat.
Add the chopped onions and fry until translucent.
Stir in the hamburger steak and cook until browned.
Add the kidney beans, salt, red pepper, and chili powder.
Mix well and simmer for 1 hour.
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.
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Onion + peppertop 11% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together68,474 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
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Onion + kidney beanstop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together1,050 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
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Kidney beans + peppertop 24% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together718 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Hamburger steak
- Provides the meat base and browns to add savory flavor to the dish.
- Onions
- Soften and sweeten as they fry, building the base flavor of the chili.
- Kidney beans
- Add body and texture, absorbing the flavors of the simmering sauce.
- Chili powder
- Supplies the main chili aroma and warm, spiced flavor.
The step that matters
Simmer for 1 hour. A long, gentle simmer lets the spices, onion and meat juices meld and the sauce thicken. Too fast a boil can scorch the bottom of the pan and toughen the meat.
Swap the kidney beans
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (onion, pepper):
- Black-eyed peafits better
- Sesamefits better
- Beansfits better
- Kidney beansthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against onion, pepper. 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.
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