Swedish · main

Kalops (Beef and Allspice Stew)

Kalops (Beef and Allspice Stew) reads umami 7.7, richness 5.2 and sourness 4.4 on Palate's 0–10 flavor X-ray — a Swedish main, about 3 hr 12 min. Measured from the recipe itself: ingredients and technique.

The flavor X-ray — six axes, 0–10

• Umami & Savory — 8.2 / 10
• Sweet & Fruity — 4.5 / 10
• Sour & Bright — 4.5 / 10
• Bitter & Earthy — 3.9 / 10
• Rich & Fat — 5.4 / 10
• Aromatic & Spice — 3.7 / 10

The measured notes (of 18)

Umami 7.7 · Richness 5.2 · Sourness 4.4 · Salinity 4.3 · Sweetness 4.0 · Earthy 3.7 · Allium 3.4 · Warm Spice 2.2 · Fruity 1.4 · Bitterness 1.4 · Funk & Ferment 1.1 · Herbaceous 0.8 · Floral 0.8 · Heat 0.7 · Nutty 0.7

What's in it (12)

• boneless beef chuck — 1200 g
• yellow onions — 450 g
• butter — 40 g
• all-purpose flour — 30 g
• beef stock — 1000 g
• allspice — 2000 g
• bay leaf — 2 g
• carrots — 200 g
• salt — 10 g
• black pepper — 3 g
• potatoes — 1000 g
• pickled beet — 200 g

Time & effort: about 3 hr 12 min · effort: involved

Nutrition (per 100 g, engine-estimated): 154.8 kcal, 6.6 g protein, 6.7 g fat, 27.7 g carbs

Dietary: Contains meat · Contains dairy — engine-derived; double-check anything allergy-critical.

How it's cooked (9 steps)

1. Pat the beef dry and season it with the salt and pepper. Wet meat steams instead of browning, and the colour of this stew comes entirely from the browning.
2. Melt half the butter in a heavy casserole over medium-high heat and brown the beef in three batches, about 4 minutes a batch, moving each batch to a plate as it colours. Do not crowd the pan.
3. Lower the heat to medium, add the rest of the butter and the onions, and cook 10 minutes, stirring, until they are soft and pale gold at the edges.
4. Return the beef and any juices, dust the flour over everything and stir for 2 minutes so the flour cooks out and stops tasting raw.
5. Pour in the stock a ladleful at a time, stirring each addition smooth before the next, then add the whole allspice berries and the bay leaves. The allspice goes in whole and stays whole — ground allspice turns the gravy muddy and dusty, and whole berries are what makes this kalops rather than a generic brown stew. Twenty berries sounds like a lot; it is correct.
6. Bring to a bare simmer, cover, and cook very gently for 1 hour 45 minutes. The surface should barely move.
7. Add the carrots and simmer, uncovered now, for a further 30 minutes, until the beef gives way completely to a spoon and the gravy has thickened to the consistency of pouring cream.
8. Meanwhile boil the potatoes in well-salted water for 20 to 25 minutes, until a knife slides in without resistance.
9. Fish out the bay leaves. Serve the kalops over the potatoes with the pickled beetroot alongside — the sharp sweetness of the beetroot against the allspice is the whole point of the plate, not a garnish.

Dishes with a similar flavor shape

• Classic Beef Chili with Skillet Cornbread — American
• Grilled Portobello Mushroom Burgers — American
• Texas Hash — Tex-Mex
• Pabellón Criollo — Venezuelan
• Beef Katsu Curry — Japanese

Keep reading: what umami, richness, sourness mean in the flavor lexicon · the world's cuisines, by flavor.

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Every number above is Palate's engine-measured estimate, computed from this recipe's ingredients and techniques — not human-tasted ratings or reviews.