Why it works: Beef and green beans work together. They rank in the top 9% of all ingredient pairs, and 35 recipes mention both. Both carry 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine, which smells earthy, pea. The science ↓
The recipe
12 servingsIngredients
Directions
Method written by CompKitchen from the ingredient list. Not the original author's method, not kitchen-tested.
Heat the vegetable oil in a large heavy pot over medium-high heat. Add the beef cubes in batches and brown on all sides, about 10 minutes total, then move the browned beef to a plate.
Reduce heat to medium. Add the diced onions to the pot and cook, stirring and scraping up browned bits, until soft and golden, about 5 minutes.
Stir in the allspice, ground black pepper and salt, and cook for 1 minute until fragrant.
Return the beef to the pot. Add the chopped canned tomatoes, tomato sauce and 1/2 cup water, and stir well.
Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low, cover and simmer for 40 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Add the trimmed, halved green beans to the pot, stir them in, cover and simmer for 30 minutes more, until the beans are tender.
Check that the beef is tender and reaches at least 145°F (63°C) in the thickest piece, then simmer a few minutes longer if needed. Let rest 3 minutes before serving.
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.
-
Beef + green beanstop 9% of all pairsAroma overlapmoderateMentioned together35 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
-
Green beans + tomatotop 2% of all pairsAroma overlapstrongMentioned together113 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
-
Beef + oniontop 3% of all pairsAroma overlapmoderateMentioned together17,091 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
-
Allspice + peppertop 3% of all pairsAroma overlapstrongMentioned together6,395 recipes
Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).
-
Beef + tomatotop 3% of all pairsAroma overlapstrongMentioned together5,445 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
Flavor stand-ins for the allspice
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (beef, onion, green beans, pepper, tomato, sauce):
- Garlicbetter flavor fit
- Celerybetter flavor fit
- Corianderbetter flavor fit
- Allspicethe original
Fit is the average pairing score against beef, onion, green beans, pepper, tomato, sauce. 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).
The Sunday pairing: one pairing, the chemistry behind it, and how to cook it. No spam, unsubscribe anytime.
Prefer an account? Create a free account for sign-in; Pro adds the full results and chemistry.