Stewed Venison

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. Butter + breadtop 7% of all pairs
   Smell alikemoderate
   Cooked together27,232 recipes

   Shared aroma: delta-decalactone (sweet, creamy).

2. Flour + buttertop 12% of all pairs
   Smell alikelow
   Cooked together124,287 recipes

   Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).

3. Red currant + breadtop 13% of all pairs
   Smell alikemoderate
   Cooked together84 recipes

   Shared aroma: alpha-pinene (pine, turpentine).

4. Flour + ketchuptop 13% of all pairs
   Smell alikemoderate
   Cooked together2,435 recipes

   Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).

5. Venison + buttertop 16% of all pairs
   Smell alikemoderate
   Cooked together957 recipes

   Shared aroma: trans-2-nonenal (cardboard, fatty).

Flour and butter 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

Venison

Provides the main meat, which becomes tender when stewed slowly in its gravy.

Flour

Dusted over the meat, it thickens the gravy as the stew cooks.

Butter

Adds richness and a glossy mouthfeel to the finished stew sauce.

Ketchup

Adds tangy sweetness and acidity that balances the rich gravy.

Red currant jelly

Adds sweetness and fruity tartness, and helps the sauce set glossy.

Fried bread

Adds crisp, browned contrast to the soft stew.

The step that matters

Swap the red currant

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (venison, flour, butter, ketchup, bread):

1. Red currantthe original
2. Currantfits about as well
3. Raisinfits less well
4. Lemonfits less well

Fit is the average pairing score against venison, flour, butter, ketchup, bread. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.