Why it works: Beef and onion are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 3% of all ingredient pairs, and 17,091 recipes mention both. Both carry 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine, which smells earthy, pea. The science ↓
The recipe
Makes 12Ingredients
Contains: egg, milk, wheat, soy, fish (auto-detected from the ingredients and method; we can miss things, so check labels)
Directions
Method written by CompKitchen from the ingredient list. Not the original author's method, not kitchen-tested.
Heat a large heavy frying pan or grill over medium-high heat.
In a large bowl, combine the minced beef, breadcrumbs, grated cheddar, Worcestershire sauce, chopped parsley and beaten eggs. Mix with your hands until evenly combined.
Divide the mixture into 12 equal portions and shape each into a patty about 1 cm (1/2 inch) thick, pressing a small dip into the centre of each.
Cook the patties in batches for about 5 minutes per side, until browned and cooked through to 160°F (71°C) in the thickest part.
Toast the split burger buns cut side down in the pan or under the grill for about 1 minute, until lightly golden.
Build each burger with a patty, sliced tomatoes, red onion slices and lettuce, adding tomato sauce to taste.
Serve the burgers with coleslaw, wedges or fries on the side.
Explore the science
The flavor team
The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much aroma chemistry they share, and how many recipes mention both.
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Beef + oniontop 3% of all pairsAroma overlapmoderateMentioned together17,091 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
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Beef + tomatotop 3% of all pairsAroma overlapstrongMentioned together5,445 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
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Tomato + lettucetop 4% of all pairsAroma overlapstrongMentioned together1,654 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
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Tomato + oniontop 4% of all pairsAroma overlapstrongMentioned together20,622 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
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Parsley + tomatotop 5% of all pairsAroma overlapstrongMentioned together5,396 recipes
Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
Flavor stand-ins for the lettuce
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (beef, sauce, parsley, egg, tomato, onion):
- Potatobetter flavor fit
- Capsicumbetter flavor fit
- Carrotbetter flavor fit
- Lettucethe original
Fit is the average pairing score against beef, sauce, parsley, egg, tomato, onion. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes. This compares flavor only: it does not check the job the ingredient does in the dish (bulk, moisture, acidity, structure).
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