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Calico Beans

"This casserole is the best! I take it to pot lucks, picnics, camping trips, etc."

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Calico Beans

Why it works: Beans and lima beans match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 156 recipes. Both carry 2-isobutyl-3-methoxypyrazine, which smells green bell pepper, earthy. The science ↓

Calico Beans

8 to 10 servings
Prep10 min
Cook1 hr 15 min

Ingredients

Directions

Step-by-step directions aren't available for this recipe. See the full recipe at the source →

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

984Calories
74 gProtein
45 gFat
69 gCarbs

Counts 12 of 13 ingredients. The other 1 aren't in our nutrition table and add nothing above, so the real totals are higher.

What these numbers assume: 12 portions
IngredientPortion assumedkcal
Beef100g cooked250
Pork100g cooked242
Kidney Bean1/2 cup canned (128g) drained112
Lima Bean1/2 cup (85g) cooked108
Butter1 tbsp (14g)102
Sugar1 tbsp (12.5g) granulated49
Onion1 medium (110g)44
Bacon1 slice cooked (8g)43
Tomato1 medium (123g)22
Celery1 stalk (40g)6
Vinegar1 tbsp (15ml) distilled3
Mustard1 tsp (5g) yellow3
Beannot in our table0

One typical portion per ingredient; the recipe's quantities are not counted. A rough guide only, not for medical or dietary planning.

By allrecipes. Recipe from Open Recipes.

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.

  1. Beans + lima beanstop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together156 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-isobutyl-3-methoxypyrazine (green bell pepper, earthy).

  2. Kidney beans + lima beanstop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together34 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-isobutyl-3-methoxypyrazine (green bell pepper, earthy).

  3. Beans + kidney beanstop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together364 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-isobutyl-3-methoxypyrazine (green bell pepper, earthy).

  4. Beef + porktop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together5,690 recipes

    Shared aroma: 12-methyltridecanal (tallowy, beefy).

  5. Ketchup + sugartop 8% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together260 recipes

    Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).

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

Swap the kidney beans

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (beef, pork, beans, butter, lima beans, ketchup, sugar):

  1. Kidney beansthe original
  2. Peasfits about as well
  3. Walnutfits less well
  4. Chestnutfits less well

Fit is the average pairing score against beef, pork, beans, butter, lima beans, ketchup, sugar. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.