Why it works: Beans and pork are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 11% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 2,000 recipes. Both carry 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine, which smells earthy, pea. The science ↓
Pork and Beans
Ingredients
Directions
The book gives no oven temperature. The 300°F (150°C) in the steps was added when the recipe was transcribed, as a starting point.
Prepare the beans
Wash the beans and soak them in 1 quart of tepid water overnight.
In the morning, add 2 quarts of water and boil for 30 to 45 minutes, until the skins begin to crack.
Drain the beans and place them in a bean pot.
Bake
Score the pork into small squares and place it in the center of the beans, sinking it to the rind.
Pour 1 quart of hot water over the beans and pork, cover the pot, and bake at 300°F (150°C) for 3 hours.
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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Beans + porktop 11% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together2,000 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
- Beans
- Form the bulk of the dish and, after soaking and boiling, become tender and creamy during the long bake.
- Pork
- Adds savory meaty flavor and richness as it cooks slowly among the beans.
The step that matters
Boiling the beans until the skins begin to crack. Soaking and boiling soften the bean skins and starches so the beans can finish tender during the long bake. Boiling too briefly leaves them firm, while the skins need to be checked during the 30 to 45 minute boil.
“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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