Name: Meatballs with Peppers and Pineapple
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 20 min
Yield: 8
Ingredients: 1-1/4 pound Ground Beef; 1/2 whole Onion, Diced Very Finely; 1 whole Egg; 1/2 cup Panko Bread Crumbs (or Regular Breadcrumbs); 1 teaspoon Kosher Salt; Freshly Ground Black Pepper, To Taste; 1/2 teaspoon Crushed Red Pepper, More To Taste; 1/4 cup All-purpose Flour; Canola Oil, For Frying; 2 whole Green Bell Peppers, Seeded And Diced Roughly; 1-1/2 cup Fresh Pineapple Chunks; 2 cups Beef Stock Or Broth; 2 Tablespoons Soy Sauce; 1/2 cup Sherry Or White Wine Vinegar; 1/3 cup Sugar; 1 Tablespoon Cornstarch; Salt To Taste; Crushed Red Pepper, To Taste; Extra Beef Stock If Needed

Why it works: Beef and onion are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 7% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 17,092 recipes. Both carry 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine, which smells earthy, pea. 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.

Beef + oniontop 7% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together17,092 recipes

Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
Beef + peppertop 10% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together18,971 recipes

Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
Onion + canola oiltop 10% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together1,150 recipes

Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).
Onion + peppertop 11% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together68,474 recipes

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

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together533 recipes

Shared aroma: ethyl 2-methylbutyrate (fruity, apple).

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

Swap the pineapple

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (beef, onion, egg, bread, pepper, flour, canola oil):

Avocadofits better
Lemonfits better
Limefits better
Pineapplethe original

Fit is the average pairing score against beef, onion, egg, bread, pepper, flour, canola oil. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.

Ingredient	Portion assumed	kcal
Flour	1 cup (125g) all-purpose	455
Beef	100g cooked	250
Olive Oil	1 tbsp (14g)	119
Pineapple	1 cup chunks (165g)	82
Egg	1 large egg (50g)	78
Sugar	1 tbsp (12.5g) granulated	49
Onion	1 medium (110g)	44
Green Bell Pepper	1 medium (119g)	31
Wine	2 tbsp cooking wine (30ml)	25
Soy Sauce	1 tbsp (15ml)	9
Chili	1 tsp (2.7g)	8
Black Pepper	1 tsp ground (2.3g)	6
Vinegar	1 tbsp (15ml) distilled	3
Salt	1 tsp (6g)	0

Meatballs with Peppers and Pineapple