Why it works: Onion and potato are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 3% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 9,023 recipes. Both carry 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine, which smells earthy, pea. The science ↓
Beef Stew
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare the beef
Sprinkle beef pieces with salt and pepper.
Heat fat in frying pans and cook beef until half done.
Transfer beef to a large pot or kettle.
Stew
Add flour, onions, and enough cold water to cover the meat.
Add potatoes and stew slowly over moderate heat for 3.5 hours, skimming occasionally.
Stir in vinegar before serving hot.
Transcribed from a scanned cookbook and modernised for today's kitchens. Where the book gave no heat or time, or said "a moderate oven", the temperatures and times here may be modern equivalents rather than the book's own figures.
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.
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Onion + potatotop 3% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together9,023 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
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Beef + oniontop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together17,092 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
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Beef + potatotop 8% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together2,052 recipes
Shared aroma: sotolon (curry, maple).
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Pepper + potatotop 9% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together8,305 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
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Beef + peppertop 10% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together18,971 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
What each ingredient does
- Beef
- Provides the meat that becomes tender during slow stewing.
- Potatoes
- Absorb the stew's liquid and add starch that thickens the broth slightly.
- Flour
- Thickens the cooking liquid into a richer, heavier gravy.
- Onions
- Add sweetness and aroma as they soften in the stew.
- Vinegar
- Adds acidity that brightens the rich, savory flavor of the stew.
The step that matters
Stew slowly over moderate heat, skimming occasionally. Gentle, steady heat lets the beef's tough connective tissue break down into tender meat. A hard boil toughens the meat and clouds the broth, so keep it at a low simmer and skim off the foam that rises.
Swap the onion
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (beef, pepper, flour, meat, potato, vinegar):
- Capsicumfits about as well
- Mustardfits about as well
- Shallotfits about as well
- Onionthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against beef, pepper, flour, meat, potato, vinegar. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.
“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.
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