Name: A "Quick" Beef Stroganoff
Yield: Serves 4
Ingredients: 500 g rump steak; 2 tbsp, plain flour; 2 tbsp, paprika; salt & pepper; 1 tbsp, olive oil; 1 large white onion, halved and sliced into half-moons; 1 red pepper, sliced into long strips; 200 gms large field mushrooms, cut into quarters; 1 oxo/beef stock cube; 2 tablespoons of white wine vinegar; 250-300 ml. sour cream

Why it works: Mushroom and beef are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 4% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 3,232 recipes. Both carry 2,4-nonadienal, which smells fatty, green. 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.

Mushroom + beeftop 4% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together3,232 recipes

Shared aroma: 2,4-nonadienal (fatty, green).
Mushroom + white winetop 5% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together1,765 recipes

Shared aroma: ethyl octanoate (fruity).
Olive + mushroomtop 7% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together4,571 recipes

Shared aroma: trans,trans-2,4-nonadienal (fatty, green).
Onion + beeftop 7% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together17,092 recipes

Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
Olive + oniontop 8% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together29,779 recipes

Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).

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

Swap the onion

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (flour, pepper, olive, mushroom, beef, white wine, vinegar):

Capsicumfits better
Shallotfits better
Tomatofits better
Onionthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against flour, pepper, olive, mushroom, beef, white wine, vinegar. 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
Yogurt	170g plain Greek	100
Onion	1 medium (110g)	44
Mushroom	1/2 cup sliced (35g)	15
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

A "Quick" Beef Stroganoff