Name: American Venison Stew
Ingredients: 3 lb venison, cut into small square pieces; 2 oz butter; 1 tablespoon flour; 1 quart white broth; 6 small glazed white onions; 1 bouquet garni; 2 pinches coarse sea salt; 1 pinch black pepper; 1 pinch nutmeg; 1 pie crust; 1 beaten egg

Why it works: Pepper and nutmeg match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 7% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 13,015 recipes. Both carry 4'-methylacetophenone, which smells bitter almond. 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.

Pepper + nutmegtop 7% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together13,015 recipes

Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).
Flour + nutmegtop 8% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together18,623 recipes

Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
Onion + peppertop 11% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together68,474 recipes

Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
Butter + flourtop 12% of all pairs

Smell alikelow

Cooked together124,287 recipes

Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
Butter + oniontop 15% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together42,912 recipes

Shared aroma: decanal (soap, orange peel).

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

Venison: Forms the main body of the stew and becomes tender during the long covered cooking.
Butter: Fat that browns the meat and carries flavor into the sauce.
Flour: Thickens the cooking liquid into a looser gravy as it is stirred in.
White broth: Liquid that moistens the flour and forms the body of the stew.
Glazed white onions: Add sweetness and soft texture to the stew.
Pie crust: Seals the top of the stew and bakes into a golden crust.

The step that matters

Browning the venison. Searing the meat in hot butter until well browned builds the deep savory flavor that the stew relies on. Meat that is crowded or steamed instead of browned stays grey and tastes flat.

Swap the onion

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (venison, butter, flour, pepper, nutmeg, egg):

Shallotfits better
Spinachfits better
Chivefits better
Onionthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against venison, butter, flour, pepper, nutmeg, egg. 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.

American Venison Stew